- This is not tax advice, I have no idea what I am talking about, you should talk with a tax professional -
I am currently working on my taxes from last year and found a few interesting things that I thought might interest some here. As my note above mentions, talk with your tax professional, this is not tax advice, I still need to talk with my CPA as well.
I traveled quite a bit for business last year, both domestically and internationally. When traveling on business you can deduct your meals and lodging (and other expenses) from your taxes and I will share a few things I found in this regard.
For both meal and lodging expenses there are whats called actual expenses and a per diem. Actual expenses are what you actually spent on food and in order to claim this you technically need to keep detailed records including receipts.
The per diem is a variable rate that is set by the government based on the cities cost of living. In essence they allow you to claim $XX in food costs per day without keeping receipts. Last year the highest per diem rate in America was $71 but this number climbs significantly if you are traveling overseas.
When figuring out your deductions you can use either your actual costs or just take the per diem. In some cases such as the Fastlane Meetup (BnP) last year, it may make more sense to go with the per diem. Last year in Scottsdale the per diem for meals was $71 a day. For your meals, you can claim 75% of the per diem on the first and last day of travel. So if you stayed 5 days you can claim (71*.75)*2 + (71*3) = 319.5
But you can only actually deduct 50% of this total from your taxes, as the highest meal cost, whether actual or per diem, you can deduct is 50%. So for the 5 day trip you could deduct about $160 for meals (I didn't spend anywhere near this last year).
Overseas the per diem can really add up quick. I went to China last year for two weeks, the per diem there was over $200 a day. Cost of living is super low and meals are very cheap. My deduction for meals from that trip will be close to $1000 and I did not spend close to $1000 on food.
Lodging has per diem rates as well but they don't appear to apply to self employed people so I haven't paid them any attention. You can really only deduct your actual lodging costs from your business travel.
If you see anything I got incorrect I would love to hear your thoughts below, also if you want to add any other info, I would love to hear it.
I am currently working on my taxes from last year and found a few interesting things that I thought might interest some here. As my note above mentions, talk with your tax professional, this is not tax advice, I still need to talk with my CPA as well.
I traveled quite a bit for business last year, both domestically and internationally. When traveling on business you can deduct your meals and lodging (and other expenses) from your taxes and I will share a few things I found in this regard.
For both meal and lodging expenses there are whats called actual expenses and a per diem. Actual expenses are what you actually spent on food and in order to claim this you technically need to keep detailed records including receipts.
The per diem is a variable rate that is set by the government based on the cities cost of living. In essence they allow you to claim $XX in food costs per day without keeping receipts. Last year the highest per diem rate in America was $71 but this number climbs significantly if you are traveling overseas.
When figuring out your deductions you can use either your actual costs or just take the per diem. In some cases such as the Fastlane Meetup (BnP) last year, it may make more sense to go with the per diem. Last year in Scottsdale the per diem for meals was $71 a day. For your meals, you can claim 75% of the per diem on the first and last day of travel. So if you stayed 5 days you can claim (71*.75)*2 + (71*3) = 319.5
But you can only actually deduct 50% of this total from your taxes, as the highest meal cost, whether actual or per diem, you can deduct is 50%. So for the 5 day trip you could deduct about $160 for meals (I didn't spend anywhere near this last year).
Overseas the per diem can really add up quick. I went to China last year for two weeks, the per diem there was over $200 a day. Cost of living is super low and meals are very cheap. My deduction for meals from that trip will be close to $1000 and I did not spend close to $1000 on food.
Lodging has per diem rates as well but they don't appear to apply to self employed people so I haven't paid them any attention. You can really only deduct your actual lodging costs from your business travel.
If you see anything I got incorrect I would love to hear your thoughts below, also if you want to add any other info, I would love to hear it.
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