I Do Not Want a Reimbursement!! I’ll Deduct It On My Return Instead!!
Want to decline tax-free reimbursements for travel expenses and deduct them on your return instead? You cannot claim the deduction if you were offered or had access to an employer reimbursement. Linked below is an old court case that is still cited in current cases involving an executive who refused to submit his expense reports to his company for reimbursement, and then claimed the expenses on his return. The court denied his deduction because "he {was} attempting to convert the employer’s right to a deduction into a right of his own."