Travel Expenses and Tax Home Again?

[ddoshan]

Travel expenses have always drove me nuts. Something I really can't get strait in my head. Have a single client who works just about anywhere in pipeline work. He really doesn't meet the tests for his home being his tax home. Single guy, does not own a home, really does not pay rent, lives with a friend when home, etc. What I don't quite understand is that in Pub 17 they always give the example of someone who lives in and works in Cincinnati for 8 months in a seasonal job his main place of work so that is his tax home. 4 months a year he works in Miami again a seasonal job. The instructions seem to indicate that then the employee could deduct his living expenses while working at the job in Miami.
If that is the case, why couldn't a client such as mine who worked say 6 months in one state, and say 3 months in two other states consider his tax home for 2012 as the state and area he worked for 6 months. That being his main place of business or work during 2012. Thereby being able to deduct his expenses for his work in the other two states.

[Bees Knees]

TTB, page 8-10 says:

More than one place of business. If there is more than one
regular place of business, the tax home is the main place of business.
If the nature of the work means there is no regular or main
place of business, the following three factors help determine the
tax home.
1) Business is conducted in the area of a main
home and the taxpayer uses that home for
lodging while doing business in the area.
2) The taxpayer’s living expenses at a main
home are duplicated when business
requires the taxpayer to be away from that
home.
3) The taxpayer has not abandoned the area in which both his
or her historical place of lodging and claimed main home are
located, or the taxpayer’s family member lives at the main
home, or the taxpayer often uses that home for lodging.

If all three factors are satisfied, the tax home is where the taxpayer
regularly lives. If two factors are satisfied, other circumstances
must be considered. If only one factor is satisfied, the taxpayer
is an itinerant worker.

Itinerant workers. An itinerant worker has neither a regular
place of business nor a regular place to live. An itinerant worker’s
tax home is wherever there is work. No travel expenses can be
deducted because the taxpayer is never considered to be traveling
away from the tax home.

Thus, the difference between someone who has no tax home and someone who does is that if there is no regular place of business or regular place to live, no tax home means no travel expense deduction. If the taxpayer does have a regular place of business or a regular place to live, then the taxpayer might qualify to deduct travel expenses, depending on other factors.

[ddoshan]

Where would you draw the line for regular place to live. If you are from city A and grew up there and never abandoned the area, have the state drivers license etc. would that be enough. Where you stay with parents, or with a friend when home. Or do you have to actually own a home, have a family, or rent a place, etc.

I guess that's where I get a little lost or confused.

[Gretel]

Where would you draw the line for regular place to live. If you are from city A and grew up there and never abandoned the area, have the state drivers license etc. would that be enough. Where you stay with parents, or with a friend when home. Or do you have to actually own a home, have a family, or rent a place, etc.

I think you would be hard pressed to say that the client has duplicate living expenses.