What business expenses are deductible when out of state?

[taxu2]

Client's primary residence is in IL. He has an IL based construction business and traveled to FL for some work. Can he deduct rental house payments, rental house utility payments, food costs and car rental expenses while he was in FL? 

[TaxGuyBill · Accepted solution]

Assuming he is away from his "Tax Home" for less than one year and his primary purpose is business, yes, that all sounds deductible.

[taxu2]

So if he was in FL for more that he was in IL and made more in FL than IL, then FL would be his tax home?

[George4Tacks]

Home is basically where you intend to return after you have finished what you are doing in that other place. There are a myriad of determining factors - driver's license, home ownership, family, car registration, voter registration. Here is a quickie from Illinois https://www2.illinois.gov/rev/questionsandanswers/pages/369.aspx California has a whole book.

[TaxGuyBill]

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463#en_US_2018_publink100033754

[taxu2]

Thanks guys! It seems to be more of a pain than I thought.

[taxu2]

One more thing......So Illinois will tax FL income since he was a resident but I don't need to file a FL return since they don't have income tax?

[George4Tacks]

Correct.

[taxu2]

Thanks again!!