Independent Contractor QBI??

[Art]

Taxpayer (Medical doctor) has worked as an independent contractor in CA for Echo Locum Tenens (a staffing provider) since July 2017. He received a 1099-MISC with the income reported in box 7- non-employee compensation. The contract requires his services for 6-month stints from July-Dec for 2017 and 2018 to perform services at a hospital I CA. For the remaining 6 months each year he was required to work overseas at a hospital in Libera under the HEAL UCSF Global Health Fellowship. For this work he received a W-2 from UCFS. When he returns from Liberia in July 2019, he will finish his last 6-month requirement for Echo Locum Tenens under the current contract and be paid on the 1099-MISC. He expects to continue this working relationship going forward.

Question: Does his work as an independent contractor qualify for QBI?

[Art]

Per the contract he signed with Echo Locum he is classified as an independent contractor and was paid as such.

Follow-up questions assuming he is independent contractor:

Can he deduct cost of occasional trips to his home in IL? I would assume not; treated as personal

Given his requirements to perform 6-month stents in CA, can he deduct cost of rental accommodations while working in CA?

[Lion]

If CA is his tax home, no. Read the contract. If it is for less than a year and does last less than a year, then maybe. But, you are talking about a year contract plus going forward, even though he gets paid in two different ways. Or, are you talking about one contract with Echo... and a separate contract with Heal...?