Personal Side Trip While On Business

I recently had a client ask me whether or not they could deduct a personal side trip while away on business, as an expense? The answer is no ! While on business, if you plan on taking some extra personal time, you will be unable to deduct this as a business expense.


Say for instance, you are in Vegas on business, and you stop off in Arizona to visit family, you spend $2050 on travel,meals,and lodging and other travel expenses. If you had not stopped off in Arizona, you would have only spent $1150 pertaining to business only. Therefore you will only be able to deduct the $115o you would have spent on business alone and the round trip tickets it costs to travel to Vegas. In addition to this deduction, you will also be able to deduct 50% of your meals pertaining to business.


If your trip consist primarily of personal reasons, such as vacation, you will be unable to deduct this as a business expenses.