Alright, I've heard this for the last time and it's time to dispel the rumor about Railroad Dispatchers.
I've had more than a handful of clients who work for a large Railroad, think Warren Buffett, who have told me that their dispatcher co-workers are deducting the per diem allowance on their tax returns. The reasoning they give me is the employee, a dispatcher who sits at their desk all day, must remain at their desk for their entire 8 hour shift.
I actually looked this up and it is the railroad regulations, Federal Railroad Administration, that dispatchers are not to leave their work station for their entire shift. The employees deducting the meal allowance, at a rate of $52 a day, argue that since they are unable to leave for lunch they should be able to take the meal allowance. The first question I ask is, "How many days away from tax home or their principal place of employment do these dispatchers work?" The answer is always, "None". I respond with the same answer to their question of how much can I deduct for meals, "None".
The confusion lies when these employees read that they are subject to the DOT's “hours of service” limits; which includes conductors, dispatchers, engineers, etc. They are taking this to mean that they can deduct their meals much like a train engineer can when he is traveling away from home.
I suppose this started when someone did a Google search, found out that dispatchers are covered under the "hours of service" rule, and failed to read on.
I have searched all over the internet for a court case related to this but have come up empty. Have any of you guys/gals come across a similar situation?
By the way, try to stay sane in the next couple of months!!!
I've had more than a handful of clients who work for a large Railroad, think Warren Buffett, who have told me that their dispatcher co-workers are deducting the per diem allowance on their tax returns. The reasoning they give me is the employee, a dispatcher who sits at their desk all day, must remain at their desk for their entire 8 hour shift.
I actually looked this up and it is the railroad regulations, Federal Railroad Administration, that dispatchers are not to leave their work station for their entire shift. The employees deducting the meal allowance, at a rate of $52 a day, argue that since they are unable to leave for lunch they should be able to take the meal allowance. The first question I ask is, "How many days away from tax home or their principal place of employment do these dispatchers work?" The answer is always, "None". I respond with the same answer to their question of how much can I deduct for meals, "None".
The confusion lies when these employees read that they are subject to the DOT's “hours of service” limits; which includes conductors, dispatchers, engineers, etc. They are taking this to mean that they can deduct their meals much like a train engineer can when he is traveling away from home.
I suppose this started when someone did a Google search, found out that dispatchers are covered under the "hours of service" rule, and failed to read on.
I have searched all over the internet for a court case related to this but have come up empty. Have any of you guys/gals come across a similar situation?
By the way, try to stay sane in the next couple of months!!!
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