Trips Home During Assignments or Between Extensions
We are often asked about whether trips home are deductible during assignments or between extensions.
A trip home during an assignment is considered a personal expense by the IRS unless there is a business purpose for the journey. If one is returning home for work then mostly all of the trip is deductible, but if the return home is for personal reasons, then the deductions are limited to what would be deducted if the traveler stayed at the assignment area. For example, if one has an apartment in the assignment area, the lodging costs do not change. However, the employee cannot deduct meal allowances when at home. The meal allowances are the only part that could have been deductible had the traveler stayed. If the meal allowance was $50/day, and the employee went home for 4 days, then $200 of transportation expenses for the journey home would be allowed
For reference, read the next to last paragraph of this ruling