Question

Melissa recently paid $715 for round-trip airfare to San Francisco to attend a business conference for three days. Melissa also paid the following expenses: $440 fee to register for the conference, $310 per night for three nights lodging, $270 for meals, and $560 for cab fare. (Leave no answers blank. Enter zero if applicable.) (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your final answer to the nearest dollar amount.)

Suppose that while Melissa was on the coast, she also spent two days sightseeing the national parks in the area. To do the sightseeing, she paid $1,830 for transportation, $1,185 for lodging, and $410 for meals during this part of her trip, which she considers personal in nature. What amount of the travel costs can Melissa deduct as business expenses?

Answer 1

Melissa can deduct a total of $2,915 as business expenses for her trip. This includes her airfare, conference fees, lodging for the conference, meals, and cab fare. The costs related to her personal sightseeing cannot be deducted.

Step-by-step explanation:

The amount of the travel costs that Melissa can deduct as business expenses includes the round-trip airfare to San Francisco, the conference registration fee, the lodging for the business conference, the meals during the conference, and the cab fare. To calculate this, we add:

• Airfare: $715
• Conference registration: $440
• Lodging (3 nights at $310 per night): $930
• Meals: $270
• Cab fare: $560

Total business expenses = $715 + $440 + $930 + $270 + $560 = $2915.

The expenses incurred during the two days of sightseeing the national parks are considered personal and cannot be deducted as business expenses. Thus, we exclude the costs of $1,830 for transportation, $1,185 for lodging, and $410 for meals related to the personal sightseeing from the business expense deductions.