No, a transportation expense to and from the airport. That expense is for transportation to get meals. It specifically spells that out.
OK, so I called that IRS help line and...... I'm still not sure.
My guess is that this time of year they get some seasonable help on those phones, because I don't think I got a member of the tax accounting national honor society on the the line. She was very nice, but started off just basically reading me the instruction. Finally got to the point we are talking about and she had to put me on hold a couple time to "research". Probably was asking someone else in her cube because she was not gone that long.
At first she came back with tips are considered an incidental within the standard meal allowance. But she later said tips were not considered an incidental expense - they were an "ordinary and necessary" unreimbursed business expense and could be deducted in addition to the standard meal allowance. My take is she was personally clueless, and the first time she put me on hold she got one answer from someone and the second time she put me on hold she got a different answer from someone else.
I did get her name and #, but I still think I'll pass on that expense this tax season and maybe do more research at a slower time later this year - and hopefully talk to someone else (better) at the IRS.
My guess is that this time of year they get some seasonable help on those phones, because I don't think I got a member of the tax accounting national honor society on the the line. She was very nice, but started off just basically reading me the instruction. Finally got to the point we are talking about and she had to put me on hold a couple time to "research". Probably was asking someone else in her cube because she was not gone that long.
At first she came back with tips are considered an incidental within the standard meal allowance. But she later said tips were not considered an incidental expense - they were an "ordinary and necessary" unreimbursed business expense and could be deducted in addition to the standard meal allowance. My take is she was personally clueless, and the first time she put me on hold she got one answer from someone and the second time she put me on hold she got a different answer from someone else.
I did get her name and #, but I still think I'll pass on that expense this tax season and maybe do more research at a slower time later this year - and hopefully talk to someone else (better) at the IRS.[/QUOTE]
He-he.....well I called the IRS too because you piqued my curiosity and it had been a few years since I "researched" this problem when it came up last time. I had IRS employee# 2504712. She says that you could add your tips to your standard meal allowance as long as the transportation was for business purposes, which is not what was explained to me last time and is along the lines of what secret squirrel was saying.
The way I read the first paragraph (which is just my opinion) in the definition of incidental expenses was that it included tips given to porters, baggage carriers, bellhops, hotel maids, stewards or stewardesses
AS WELL AS other types of people who happen to be working on ships that may or may not have job titles like the previously named employees (my definition). Since a van driver, I thought, fell under the "porters, baggage carriers," I thought that it was already included in the Standard Meal Allowance.
Now after talking to the IRS employee, perhaps that first paragraph only refers to those types of employees who work on ships and
only on ships. Since the van driver doesn't work on a ship, his tip is not in the definition of an incidental expense, and therefore can be deducted as a travel expense as Secret Squirrel says (Table 1-1) . But why they would write a paragraph to single out people who work on ships is beyond me. If the guy works on a ship it's included, but if he works on a train, it isn't?
Clear as mud? So as taxpayers, we're stuck paying a guy $200-$300 to do our taxes so that HIS name goes on the return to save us $50 bucks for a questionable deduction or doing it ourselves and possibly avoiding taking a legitimate deduction because it's not worth the fine and penalty if you're randomly (or otherwise!) audited.
