| Business Expenses / Commuting expenses to temporary job locations |  |
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Did you know that you can deduct
"commuting" expenses between your home and temporary job
locations? Daily transportation costs between your home and a regular
work location are nondeductible commuting expenses. However, you may be
able to deduct costs of going to and from your home and a temporary (not
regular) job location. This deduction is allowed if your work fits one
of the following descriptions: n
You have one or more regular places of business outside your home, but
sometimes travel to temporary work locations in the same trade or
business. n
You sometimes travel to a temporary work location outside the
metropolitan area in which you live and normally work. Generally speaking, employment at a
work location is temporary if it is realistically expected to last (and
does in fact last) for no more than a year. So, for example, if you have
a regular workplace, but you are assigned to another location for three
months, your new work location is considered a temporary one. This means
that you will be able to deduct your commuting expenses to the temporary
location. Sometimes a temporary location can
turn into a regular one. This happens when your realistic expectation
changes, so that work at a location that had been expected to last for a
year or less is now expected to last for more than a year. Assume, for
example, that a three-month assignment to a work location becomes
permanent. In that case, your commuting expenses to that location won't
be deductible after the date when your realistic expectation changed,
even if the location is outside of your metropolitan area. You must be able to substantiate the
auto expenses that you claim through adequate records, such as a log or
diary. You can either use the standard mileage rate or deduct your
actual expenses. If your employer reimburses your
commuting expenses, you needn't report the reimbursements as income if
they are made under a so-called "accountable plan." An
accountable plan is one that reimburses only deductible business
expenses, requires you to substantiate your expenses, and requires you
to return amounts in excess of your substantiated expenses. If the plan
is not an accountable plan, the reimbursement must be reported as
income, and your deductible expenses must be claimed as employee
business expenses.
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