Originally Posted by
pokey9554
I agree with what you're saying. If you read the full publication I posted, it specifically says you cannot deduct lodging or meals if you work other than the place you live if your assignment is permanent (over a year). The DOT may have an exception, but I cannot find it. Let me reiterate, I completely believe you SHOULD be able to deduct a crashpad/ hotel room, but apparently the IRS only allows businessmen in private jets to deduct those things.
I would like to expand on this.
If your assignment is temporary you can deduct the meals and lodging.
Temporary is determined by two things:
1) Length of the assignment, generally accepted as being less than one year.
2) An end date that is scheduled in advance. This last part is what trips up many pilots. You may say I'm just going to take this bid to JFK until I can hold the 767 in Dallas, but there is no advance schedule for when you will get it. So even if you get it in six months, the IRS will say that your assignment was "indefinite". For IRS purposes, indefinite and permanent are the same thing.
Even for a temporary assignment you can't deduct the costs (such as occasionally having to buy a ticket) of actually getting from your home to your workplace.
Joe