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If the trips are primarily for business then treat the rent as business travel as long as it is not lavish per sec 162(a)2. Personal allocation depends on fact and circumstances. For example if she spends 6 to 8 hours a day consulting then don't worry about personal time in the evenings. If on the other hand she spends 2 days consulting and a day of personal then the allocation is 2/3 for business. If the trips are primarily for personal purpose then there is no deduction. OIH is not a consideration in this case; taxpayer is renting an apartment for lodging instead of a motel as I see it. I don't believe self employed taxpayers are allowed to use a per diem for lodging.

I don't think this is government overreach, just one of many attempts to stem abuse of the charitable donation deduction. Remember before charities had to provide 1098C for car donations? People would take the blue book value for donating an old car that had been sitting rotting in a field for ten years. I recall that in the year the form was required deductions for cars dropped something like 80%. Conservation easements are another area of rampant abuse that is in focus. And we all have a lot of clients who say "same as last year" or pick a number off the ceiling when we ask about their donations. We don't get those answers so often now that we remind them they have to have receipts.

My response is then, "That makes your deduction $0." Except for 4. and 5., when I ask for their detailed P&L. I need clients less than they need me, so disengagement comes sooner the older I get.

I have had 4 phone calls wanting appointments and 6 people emailing me this morning about appointments. It's Jan 6. Lay off people. I haven't even figured out what day we're doing appointments yet. Good grief.

I have several appointments already set in Feb. One this coming Thurs in regard to an old return. We haven't even decided yet if we are taking new clients or not and they are already calling or e-mailing. Unfortunately, I have to work around several needed medical and dental appts in Jan and Feb and also try to get my assistant "in the mood". I had an offer to sell a month ago. Maybe I should rethink that as it is an open offer. Just so many medical bills for 24 and 25. I really wanted to work at least one more year and then taper down. My potential buyer will work with whatever I want to do. I really wanted my assistant to be ready to take over a good part of my practice. Decisions! Decisions!

Two tax homes? I don't think that is possible.

A cot in her office might negate the "exclusive & regular use" of an OIH. Is her tax home in TN for telehealth, but in OH for in-person visits? If she has a tax home in OH, them travel expenses are not deductible. You have lots of questions to ask. Read about OH's definitions for things like Domicile. Facts & circumstances.

You go I follow. We need you here. Tom Longview, TX

Tom, thanks for clarifying. Maybe I should think about retiring.

How many such avoidance answers do you encounter? "Same as Last Year" "Deduct as much as you think I can get away with" "Little Johnny stayed exactly 50% with me and 50% with my ex-wife" "Don't claim any more revenue than the 1099s I received." "I paid Hernando Valaquez exactly $599 for the work he did." Government overreach? Some of my customers are as honest as the day is long. Others are questionable and give answers such as the above. (if they do this, I never let them off the hook) Others are basically good but take the position that "I am as honest with the government as the government is with us." i.e. not honest at all.

I'm confused by this and Tom's answers about the W2 proration as well. I don't do CA returns, but I thought CA was a stickler for any out of state person working remotely for a CA based business doing business in CA to tax all of those wages regardless of where the employee was located. Has something changed with that? My original answer about the K-1 income was going to be that all income on the K-1 is taxable to each of the 3 shareholders as CA source income and taxable there with those people claiming a credit on their OK resident personal returns for taxes paid to CA.

Say you lose your phone, or it dies... Although usually I'm with it, until now I was not forced to be tethered to a cellphone. I have a tablet on my desk and an installed an authenticator on it, which is asking for the QR code. Will re-entering the installation code and existing password (twice) on the ATX splash screen work? and will it cause issues with the primary authenticator? Boy, how I long for the SaberTax years, Orest

Received an email this morning from the IRS that my IP PIN was available, retrieved it with my ID.me log-in.

If it's two businesses, it's possible. Margaret needs to ask lots of questions to understand her client's business model. I don't see that all the questions about the itinerant life have to do with this client. She obviously has at least two places of business, one in TN where she does telehealth and one in OH where she sees clients in an office. Her question is if her personal rental in OH is a deduction due to being away from her office in TN. I think it rests upon if her only tax home is in TN so she's away when working (not visiting) in OH, or if her in-person biz is a separate biz in OH only, so an OH tax home for that biz.

Margaret, my client gets a W2 from a Texas Company. He is actually an engineer. However, they withhold state taxes for Colorado, Louisiana or wherever they send him. Mostly now he works in Texas. When I first met him, he was so far in the hole that you couldn't see the bottom. I just told him how proud I am of what he has done with his life. However, filing two or three NR forms as well as Wisconsin has just become too much of a burden. Sometimes we have to step back and think of what is best for the client. I do think that you are on the right track with your client. Being self-employed is an entirely different ballgame.

Lee B, I was inclined to allocate her share of the rent per diem only on the nights she was counseling clients either the day prior or the day after. It is fair to say that she does mix business and personal time but I suspect there are very few business travelers that are 100% business, i.e., enjoying some television or some such when overnight is necessary because commuting is unreasonable given the distance. PapaJoe, I suspect that if she had no clients in Ohio, she would still travel here but not likely twice monthly as that is her counseling schedule. She certainly would not have a private office space for counseling or paying for an OH license or for the income tax now not earned in OH. I believe that she still maintains activities in the church when in OH because she is here. There are other deacons that live outside the area and serve electronically and services are now online so I doubt she would be here often - unless her partner continues practicing and comes as often. All good questions I need to ask.

One question I would ask is if she had no clients in Ohio, would she still travel there twice a month for church and social reasons? Also, how many days does she spend each trip?

Sorry, I meant to say "refunds".

Nothing has changed. If you are not a CA resident, you only pay tax on the wages you earn while working in the state. CA is a stickler on the proof that you are working outside the state. Example, my spouse is my employee. I do a lot of CA tax returns from TX. All my CA clients are CA sourced income to my business. I file a NR tax return an pay taxes on the profits from those clients. However, my spouse works exclusively out of my TX home office on CA client returns. None of her W2 income is taxed by CA. Tom Longview, TX

Reasonable method. If no good records, then CA may assert all CA income. Facts and circumstances. Tom Longview, TX

Thanks, Judy. I think the client is not at all proposing or trying to claim the efficiency rental for OIH. She uses TN home for billing and virtually all of her telehealth consults. It seems she is asking for herself - not her partner who is not my client - if she can claim any portion for overnight stays when doing business in OH in person. She comes to OH twice monthly for the in person consults and for personal time, as well. I would have to ask whether her primary purpose is for business. Kinda doubt it but not sure as her consulting practice was well established before moving to TN. The telehealth portion took off during COVID but she maintained several clients to see in person wearing masks and continues to meet them. In any event, an alternative would be for her to stay in a motel as it is certainly too far to commute from TN overnight. She does rent office space in OH for the consults. Should she buy a cot and sleep there? /s The calculated amount may be very small and not really worth it, as you mention, but not sure. If it costs $1200, just a guess for calculations, per month and she pays half or $600, that would be $20 per night or $40 per month, not nothing for her small practice but more that when she stayed with a friend and less than a motel would cost. FWIW, she has never claimed mileage or meals but does pay income tax on the related earnings to the municipality where her OH office is located. Re costs: as a leased efficiency apartment, I would be surprised if there were additional charges for utilities, etc. I suspect and will confirm that she only uses her telephone directly or as a hotspot. I doubt there is renter's insurance either. It might even be furnished. Several unknowns so thanks for the prompts. I find it an interesting thought exercise and realize that not every situation fits neatly into the IRS prescribed boxes.

In general, this would fall under the office-in-home rules, if she qualifies for that. Remember that in addition to being an area of exclusive use, it also has to be regularly used for the business, so that may knock her out for this deduction since your original post said it was rather sporadic or of limited use. IF she did qualify for the OIH, this would be a further proration of her share of the net expenses after reimbursement from the other party: rent, renter's insurance, utilities, internet, telephone, etc. Considering all of that, again IF she qualifies, she may find that the business % of her share of the expenses doesn't amount to much tax savings or worth the hassle, but that is for you to discuss and advise.

Client and partner have been traveling from TN to OH twice monthly since relocating to TN in about 2022. They are both psychologists with personal counseling practices. Most of their counseling is via telehealth but they have some OH clients that they see personally when in OH from original practice. I do not prepare the partner's returns so cannot speak to the handling of expenses there. As they were long time residents of the area and my client attends church and sings in the choir and is a deacon, her visits to OH are both for business and personal purposes. She has rented an office for in person counseling in OH but does only telehealth in TN where she also does her billing. She wrote that she and partner decided to rent an efficiency apartment last September for overnight stays on those visits in OH. I don't know if there are other stays when not meeting clients. My client does NOT use the apartment for 100% business and has done telehealth from that location only once since September. Partner does a lot from there, I think. My client has not had to pay for overnight stays since relocating to TN until September as they were staying with a close friend at no cost. Close friend moved in with sister so no more free stays. I'm thinking that my client might be able to expense her share of the rent for those nights she stays in OH when meeting clients in person. Her share is one half of the monthly lease payment. She has never taken any kind of travel expense, meals or lodging but I think it appropriate to deduct something for overnight stays when she does do business here as it is too far to commute to TN. Thoughts?

Once you have submitted the return, there is no way of getting it back. You will need to apply for a loan some other way.

I am not clearly following your post Margaret. Is your client renting an apartment which is used 100% for business while away from her tax home; or also using it for personal purposes?

Only in California and all work done in California. How do you apportionment? Based on hrs? Days in Ca verses Oklahoma?

I should say also that if the corp is not registered to do business in any other state, all income is CA sourced. Tom Longview, TX

"Contemporaneous" was taught to me as meaning: by the time the taxpayer files their return. So you are supposed to have it in hand when you file.

I don't have an answer to that but am in your corner yearning for the easier days! I had to get a new phone and am terrified to even begin the transfer. I have 4 authenticators and no clue as to whether they will work. I use the fingerprint method successfully now. I think I have to go to the phone store but we have 10-12 inches of snow now.