International business travel

Hi,

I'm looking for information on tax deductions for international
business travel. Specifically, I attended two conventions in
Europe this year that directly pertained to the industry in which I
work. I'm trying to figure out if/how much of these expenses are
deductible.

I looked up the section on travel deductions on the IRS website,
and found this vague statement:

Travel expenses for conventions are deductible if you can show that
your attendance benefits your trade or business. Special rules
apply to conventions held outside the North American area.

What are these special rules? If you know, please clue me in. I do
my own taxes online and am not looking forward to trying to figure
this out. I really hope to be able to at least deduct air and
hotel, which will come to around $3K total.

Thanks so much,
Hal

misc.taxes


"Hal" wrote in message
.. .

Hi,

I'm looking for information on tax deductions for international
business travel. Specifically, I attended two conventions in
Europe this year that directly pertained to the industry in which I
work. I'm trying to figure out if/how much of these expenses are
deductible.

I looked up the section on travel deductions on the IRS website,
and found this vague statement:

Travel expenses for conventions are deductible if you can show that
your attendance benefits your trade or business. Special rules
apply to conventions held outside the North American area.

What are these special rules? If you know, please clue me in. I do
my own taxes online and am not looking forward to trying to figure
this out. I really hope to be able to at least deduct air and
hotel, which will come to around $3K total.

Thanks so much,
Hal

Hal wrote:
Hi,

I'm looking for information on tax deductions for international
business travel. Specifically, I attended two conventions in
Europe this year that directly pertained to the industry in which I
work. I'm trying to figure out if/how much of these expenses are
deductible.

I looked up the section on travel deductions on the IRS website,
and found this vague statement:

Travel expenses for conventions are deductible if you can show that
your attendance benefits your trade or business. Special rules
apply to conventions held outside the North American area.

What are these special rules? If you know, please clue me in. I do
my own taxes online and am not looking forward to trying to figure
this out. I really hope to be able to at least deduct air and
hotel, which will come to around $3K total.

I think you should asks these kinds of questions in a tax related group,
but......

Have you ever looked at Publication 334? (Tax Guide For Small Business)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p334.pdf

In multiple locations of that guide, it references Publication 463


http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf (Travel, Entertainment, Gift,
and Car Expenses)

If you can find it in there, contact a tax specialist

mrt wrote:

H

Have you ever looked at Publication 334? (Tax Guide For Small Business)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p334.pdf

In multiple locations of that guide, it references Publication 463


http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf (Travel, Entertainment, Gift,
and Car Expenses)

Specifically, look at the "Conventions" section in columns 1 and 2 of
page 9.

In article ,
says...
mrt wrote:

H

Have you ever looked at Publication 334? (Tax Guide For Small Business)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p334.pdf

In multiple locations of that guide, it references Publication 463


http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf (Travel, Entertainment, Gift,
and Car Expenses)

Specifically, look at the "Conventions" section in columns 1 and 2 of
page 9.



Great info, thanks so much! Exactly what I needed. I also checked
TaxBrain.com to see if they had any info on it, and I realized that
they offer live support 24 hours during the big crunch, so I'll be
able to ask someone if I have any problems.

Have a wonderful holiday season!
Hal

Hal wrote:
In article ,
says...

mrt wrote:


H

Have you ever looked at Publication 334? (Tax Guide For Small Business)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p334.pdf

In multiple locations of that guide, it references Publication 463


http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p463.pdf (Travel, Entertainment, Gift,
and Car Expenses)

Specifically, look at the "Conventions" section in columns 1 and 2 of
page 9.




Great info, thanks so much! Exactly what I needed. I also checked
TaxBrain.com to see if they had any info on it, and I realized that
they offer live support 24 hours during the big crunch, so I'll be
able to ask someone if I have any problems.

Have a wonderful holiday season!
Hal

Now, don't forget, I'm a netkook and you should never pay attention to
anything I post. And.. don't say anything in my favor, or you will be
hit by massive harassment both in the newsgroup and by a noticeable
increase in spam and virus email. I don't know why this idiot does
these things, but he does.

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 00:21:34 GMT, mrt wrote:

Now, don't forget, I'm a netkook and you should never pay attention to
anything I post. And.. don't say anything in my favor, or you will be
hit by massive harassment both in the newsgroup and by a noticeable
increase in spam and virus email. I don't know why this idiot does
these things, but he does.

Why don't you change your name?
---
DFM

Deep Freud Moors wrote:

On Sat, 06 Dec 2003 00:21:34 GMT, mrt wrote:


Now, don't forget, I'm a netkook and you should never pay attention to
anything I post. And.. don't say anything in my favor, or you will be
hit by massive harassment both in the newsgroup and by a noticeable
increase in spam and virus email. I don't know why this idiot does
these things, but he does.


Why don't you change your name?
---
DFM

I tried that but "HE" complains about it when I do.. Of course, to him,
it is perfectly acceptable if he changes his name.

I had similar questions several years ago about a trip to Moscow I took
that was part business/part vacation.

I would seek the advice of a good tax prep before you file online!

Travel expenses for conventions are deductible if you can show that
your attendance benefits your trade or business. Special rules
apply to conventions held outside the North American area.

If the trip was purely for business, you can generally just deduct it.
The tricky bit is when it's part business and part personal.

Within North America, the principle is "you had to go anyway". If you
fly somewhere for three days of business and three days of fun, you
can deduct what you would have spent had you just done the business,
which would be the plane tickets and the three business days of hotel
and meals.

Outside North America you have to pro-rate it, so if you fly somewhere
for three days of work and three days of fun, you can only deduct half
of the plane tickets along with the hotel and meals for the work part
of the trip.

As everyone else has been suggesting, read the IRS publications, and
if they're too baffling to understand, find a tax expert who can
interpret them for you.