There is a resort in Mexico that we, as a family, like to enjoy. I have fond memories of sitting at the beach with a book and a “Freezie Willy” fruit drink, boogie boarding, shuffle boarding, eating street tacos, trying to surf (that is exhausting exercise), doing yoga classes, catching crabs off a pier, dickering with merchants in the market, riding buses, and attending church in Spanish. Many of my family members work in our CPA firm. Can I write off part of the trip?
The tax code is clear that for travel expenses to be deductible, they must be ordinary and necessary in the conduct of your business and must be directly attributable to the business in order to be deductible. If you engage in both business and personal activities while on the trip, the expense of traveling to the destination is deductible only if the trip is primarily related to you trade of business. If it is not, then only the business portion of the business activities are deductible.
Our family vacations are not necessary for the conduct of our business and consequently they are not tax deductible—but they sure are fun.
