When you plan your next vacation, be businesslike. With some advance planning, you can get the IRS to foot part of the bill. The technique is to mix business with pleasure. As long as the primary purpose of the trip is business (and that’s very important), you can write off a chunk of your travel, hotel, restaurant and other bills, even if you manage to find some time for leisure pursuits.
Suppose you have a sideline business. Before you take your trip, schedule a series of meetings with clients and prospects in your destination area. Keep good records, with notes and receipts, to show how much business you actually conducted. It goes without saying that you want to keep things strictly legit. The point here is that you need to do some planning well in advance to take advantage of these IRS rules. If you’re traveling this summer, for business or pleasure or both, keep in mind that you can rent out a home that you own for up to 14 days per year without having to declare any taxable income.
