Seasonal work - temporary

[Gretel]

Prospective client has taken deductions for travel etc. for job as a local truck driver in a different state then he lives in. Every night he returns to tax home. He is hired for about 7 months, then gets UE benefits. Next year he goes back to same employer and same job. Absent the knowledge was his contract says, I believe that when he went back the second year, it was no longer a temporary job but indefinite employment. Never had that scenario.

Anyone disagree?

[jsamans]

Prospective client has taken deductions for travel etc. for job as a local truck driver in a different state then he lives in. Every night he returns to tax home. He is hired for about 7 months, then gets UE benefits. Next year he goes back to same employer and same job. Absent the knowledge was his contract says, I believe that when he went back the second year, it was no longer a temporary job but indefinite employment. Never had that scenario.

Anyone disagree?

I disagree. People who are guaranteed reemployment according to a seasonal schedule are generally not eligible for unemployment-insurance benefits; for instance, full-time teachers may not claim UI over the summer, even though they are not working and/or are free to take other jobs, because they have a guarantee of reemployment in the fall.

"An assignment in a single location is generally considered temporary if it is expected to last (and does last) for one year or less" (TTB 8-11). Your prospective client not only filed for but actually received the UI benefits, indicating that the employer both paid his FUTA/SUTA (establishing eligibility) and affirmed (though not contesting the payment) that his employment did, in fact, end with no guarantee of reemployment. Absent such a guarantee, each period of employment is as temporary as the next, and he is correct in deducting the travel as applying to a temporary assignment.

Now, caveat: you should validate that his contract has no guarantee of reemployment, because all of this goes out the window if it does. But I'm guessing it does not.

[AJsTax]

Not always true.

I disagree. People who are guaranteed reemployment according to a seasonal schedule are generally not eligible for unemployment-insurance benefits; for instance, full-time teachers may not claim UI over the summer, even though they are not working and/or are free to take other jobs, because they have a guarantee of reemployment in the fall.

"An assignment in a single location is generally considered temporary if it is expected to last (and does last) for one year or less" (TTB 8-11). Your prospective client not only filed for but actually received the UI benefits, indicating that the employer both paid his FUTA/SUTA (establishing eligibility) and affirmed (though not contesting the payment) that his employment did, in fact, end with no guarantee of reemployment. Absent such a guarantee, each period of employment is as temporary as the next, and he is correct in deducting the travel as applying to a temporary assignment.

Now, caveat: you should validate that his contract has no guarantee of reemployment, because all of this goes out the window if it does. But I'm guessing it does not.

In our state we have many seasonal employees that are laid off every winter and go back to the same employer every spring. They are 100% eligible for unemployment every year when they are off.
My opinion is that he has a new tax home with the truck driving job and must treat the mileage back and forth as commuting miles.

[taxea]

Seasonal or not this is not temporary assignment when he is hired to work at a specific location. This is a seasonal job and there would not be the expenses that can be taken when hired and then assigned to a "temporary" location. This location is a normal work location for him and I agree that mileage is commute.
Further, temp employees are entitled to UI (HRB employees do this yearly even when they intend to return the following season). This statement is based on prior experience from years ago. Check the UI requirements to determine whether this is still true.