- The IRS has determined your work, as an employee or a self-employed business owner, must take you away from your usual work area long enough for you to need substantial rest or sleep to qualify for a deduction due to meal costs. If your work sends you to another location for a long-term, temporary assignment, your expenses are deductible. If the same assignment is indefinite in length, the expenses are non-deductible as this location is considered your new work area.
- Assuming none of your expenses were reimbursed; enter the standard allowance for the year on line 5 of IRS Form 2106 EZ, Unreimbursed Employee Expenses. If ineligible to use that form, enter the amount on line 5 of IRS Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses. The total on line 6 of 2106 EZ or line 10 of 2106 is carried over to Schedule A, line 21. You must file a 1040, often called the long form, to claim this deduction.
- Generally, you claim 50 percent of the standard allowance on full travel days and a pro-rated amount on the first and last day of trip. The IRS' suggested method for determining the pro-rated amount is two-thirds of the amount allowed to be claimed if it was a full day; however, any method is acceptable as long as it is used consistently.
- In an effort to compensate for areas with a higher cost of living, the allowable amount varies by location. Amounts for areas within the Continental United States are set by the Internal Revenue Service; the Department of Defense determines rates for Alaska, Hawaii and American territories. International location rates are determined by the Department of State. Transportation workers can choose to take a flat fee to avoid figuring amount for each location that they encounter.
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