Can you write travel off on taxes? If so, how is it done?

Answer 1

This is not enough information. What kind of travel do you want to write off? If this is a business related travel, you may in some cases. However you can not write off travel to and from your regular office. But if you are a salesman and have to travel to see clients, or perhaps a tradesman and need to travel to job sites -- that kind of travel could be tax deductible. Also, travel for charity could be tax deductible. Say if you volunteer at a hospital or food kitchen or some other organization like that, then travel related to this activity could be tax deductible.
When you determine if travel is deductible or not, then you can choose one of two methods to deduct it:
1. Actual Expenses;
2. Standard Mileage deduction;

Actual expenses would include gasoline, oil changes, car maintenance, car deprecation etc.
Standard mileage deduction is easier, you simply document the mileage you drive for the activity and multiply it by a standard IRS rate. It changes every year, sometimes it even changes mid-year. For example right now the standard mileage deductions are as follow:
-- 48.5 cents per mile for business miles driven;
-- 20 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes;
--14 cents per mile driven in service to a charitable organization.

Whether you use standard deduction or actual expenses, you need to keep your receipts or maintain records of your trips, in form of simple logs describing the date, destination and mileage of each trip.
The answer to your question is much broader, but this should give you a starting point.

Answer 2

yes, if it is for business purposes. for example, you have to go to arizona for some lame business convention. you can write off your airfare, hotel, meals, and other non-entertainment expenses. the key is that they are business-related expenses. of course, if you do not owe the IRS anything at the end of the year the writeoff is worthless. the idea is that your expenses are deducted from the amount you have to pay the IRS. if you get a refund, then you have no bill and therefore cannot use writeoffs. they are only to lower the amount you are required to pay. how is this done? that depends on how you do your taxes. i do mine online with taxpro and that program goes through a huge list of deductions, so you know for sure you aren't missing anything. now, if you go to some place like H&R Block, they are not tax professionals. they are seasonal employees. my mother did her taxes at H&R Block once and told me she knew the women that did hers because she worked at walmart too. these people are not that skilled and often miss deductions. i wouldn't trust them. my advice is to do it online yourself with a tax prep. program. also, always keep your recipes. get a shoebox, write the year on them and inside each one keep 12 big yellow envelopes with each month written, then you can easily store your recipes and find any ones that are questionable also. if the IRS does an audit and you can't prove you stayed at the hilton for 2 nights on a business trip, then they wont let you use that as a write off.

Answer 3

"Travel" for tax purposes refers to out-of-town travel for business purposes. I assume you have some travel expenses that meet this definition. These expenses include airfare, hotel, meals, long-distance calls, taxis, etc.

How it is done:

If you are an employee, you document your travel expenses using Form 2106. The total unreimbursed travel expenses are then transferred to Schedule A of Form 1040. On Schedule A, these expenses are limited to the excess of 2% of your adjusted gross income.

If you are self-employed, your travel expenses are documented on Schedule C of Form 1040. These expenses reduce your gross income from self-employment.

In both cases, there are limits to the deduction for meals and entertainment. Generally you can deduct only 50% of these expenses.

Of course, you need to keep records of your travel expenses in case your return is examined.

Answer 4

From the IRS publication

"You can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses you have when you travel away from home on business. The type of expense you can deduct depends on the facts and your circumstances."

I suggest you read the IRS Publication 463 (2006), Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses as it details everything you need to know on how to deduct travel expenses from your taxes http://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/index.html