Question

Jason travels to Miami to meet with a client. While in Miami, he spends 2 days meeting with his client and 3 days sightseeing. Mary, his wife, goes with him and spends all 5 days sightseeing and shopping. The cost of the trip is as follows:

Airfare 540 for each person
Lodging at hotel150 per day (same rate for single and double rooms)
Meals 75 per day for each person
Incidental expenses20 per day for Jason and Mary (no records kept).

If Jason is self-employed, what is the amount of the deduction he may claim for the trip?

Answer 1

Jason can deduct a total of $1030 for his business-related trip expenses to Miami, which includes airfare, lodging for business days, meals for business days, and incidental expenses for those days.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question involves calculating the deductible expenses for a self-employed individual, Jason, on a business trip to Miami. Since he is self-employed, only the expenses directly related to his business are deductible. The trip lasted a total of five days, but only two days were spent meeting the client, which would be considered business-related activities. The calculation would be as follows:

• Airfare for Jason: $540 (since Mary's airfare is not a business expense, it is not deductible)
• Lodging for Jason: $150 per day × 2 days = $300 (lodging during business days is deductible)
• Meals for Jason: $75 per day × 2 days = $150 (meals during business days are deductible)
• Incidental expenses for Jason: $20 per day × 2 days = $40

Adding all of Jason's deductible expenses:

$540 (airfare) + $300 (lodging) + $150 (meals) + $40 (incidental) = $1030

The total deductible amount for Jason's business-related trip expenses is $1030.