Key takeaways
- Your tax home is your regular place of business, not necessarily where your family lives, per IRS Publication 463.
- Airfare, lodging, ground transport, laundry and business calls are fully deductible. Meals on the trip are generally 50% deductible.
- On a US trip that is mainly business, the round-trip fare is fully deductible, but hotel and meals on vacation days are not.
- Keep receipts for all lodging and for other travel costs of $75 or more, plus a record of dates, destination and business purpose.
What is a travel expense?
A travel expense is what it costs to do business somewhere other than where you normally work, when the trip keeps you away overnight. Flights, hotels, meals on the road, a rental car and a taxi from the airport all count. For employees, these costs are usually reimbursed. For freelancers and business owners, they are deductible on the return.
The tax rules care about one distinction above everything else: travel versus local transportation. Travel means you are away from home overnight. Local trips, including a day trip to a client across the state, follow different and narrower rules.
Capture every travel receipt while you’re on the road with the Manage Receipt app.
The tax home and “away from home” rule
You can only travel away from your tax home if you have one. Your tax home is your regular place of business or post of duty, regardless of where your family lives. If you have no regular place of business, it’s the place where you regularly live. If you have neither, because you move from job to job with no home you keep paying for, you have no tax home and can’t deduct travel at all.
You are “away from home” when your work keeps you away substantially longer than an ordinary day and you need sleep or rest to meet the demands of the trip. A quick nap in the car doesn’t count.
Travel. Transportation, lodging, meals and related costs can be deductible.
Local transportation. Mileage or fares can be deductible, but meals aren’t.
Personal. Getting from home to your regular workplace is never deductible.
Deductible travel costs
| Expense | Deductible? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Airfare, train and bus fares | Yes | Between home and the business destination |
| Taxis, ride-share, airport shuttles | Yes | Airport to hotel, hotel to client sites |
| Rental car or your own car | Yes | Actual costs, or 72.5¢ a mile Jan–Jun 2026 and 76¢ from July 1, 2026 |
| Lodging and lodging taxes | Yes | Only for nights the business requires |
| Meals on the trip | 50% | Actual cost or the federal M&IE rate |
| Laundry, baggage, business calls, Wi-Fi | Yes | Including tips on these services |
| A spouse or friend’s travel | No | Unless they are your employee traveling for a real business reason |
| Hotel and meals on vacation days | No | Personal days are personal |
| Sightseeing, shows, golf | No | Personal or entertainment |
For the details of each category, see lodging expenses, the meal expense deduction and incidental expenses.
Mixed business and personal trips
Adding a few vacation days to a work trip is common, and allowed. You just can’t deduct the vacation part. How the trip is split depends on where you go.
Trips within the US. If the trip is primarily for business, the round-trip transportation is fully deductible. Lodging, meals and local costs are deductible only for business days. If the trip is primarily personal, the transportation isn’t deductible, but costs on the days you actually do business still are.
A freelance designer flies to Denver for a five-day client project and stays two extra days to ski. The trip is primarily business, because five of the seven days are for work.
| Cost | Amount | Deductible |
|---|---|---|
| Round-trip flight | $420 | $420 |
| Hotel, 4 business nights at $180 | $720 | $720 |
| Hotel, 2 vacation nights at $180 | $360 | $0 |
| Meals on business days | $250 | $125 (50%) |
| Lift tickets and ski rental | $310 | $0 |
| Total | $2,060 | $1,265 |
Trips abroad. The rules are stricter. Transportation is fully deductible if the trip lasts a week or less, if less than 25% of the days are personal, or if you had no real control over arranging it. Otherwise, you split the transportation cost by the share of business days.
Records needed
- Receipts for every lodging stay and for any other travel cost of $75 or more
- The amount of each expense, including smaller ones without a receipt
- Dates you left and returned, and the number of days spent on business
- The destination and the business purpose of the trip
- A mileage log if you drove, with dates, miles and destinations
A calendar invite, conference agenda or client email helps show the business purpose. See substantiation for how much proof is enough.
One report per trip, in any currency
Scan flights, folios, taxis and meal receipts into Manage Receipt as you go, then export them as one trip report with every receipt attached. Receipts in euros or pounds are converted to dollars, so splitting a mixed business and vacation trip takes minutes, not an evening with a spreadsheet.
Explore AI Expense ReportsFrequently asked questions
What travel expenses are deductible?
When business takes you away from your tax home overnight, you can deduct transportation, lodging, rental cars, taxis, baggage fees, laundry, business calls and tips on these. Meals are generally 50% deductible. Costs for vacation days, sightseeing and anyone traveling with you for personal reasons are not deductible.
Can I deduct a trip that’s partly vacation?
Partly. For a US trip that is primarily business, the round-trip fare is fully deductible, plus lodging and meals on business days only. Vacation days are personal. For foreign trips, the fare may need to be split by business days unless the trip lasted a week or less or under 25% of it was personal.
Is local travel deductible?
Not as travel, since you aren’t away overnight. Your daily commute is never deductible. But driving from your regular workplace to a client or between job sites is deductible local transportation, at actual cost or the 2026 IRS mileage rate: 72.5¢ a mile through June 30 and 76¢ from July 1.
What counts as my tax home?
Your tax home is your regular place of business, not necessarily where your family lives. If you have no regular workplace, it’s where you regularly live. You must be traveling away from that place, long enough to need sleep or rest, for your costs to count as travel expenses.