Welcome to the TravelTax Blog

While you may have read my articles on various websites, or my posts on FB pages and other forums, from time to time I like to wax eloquent without fitting my thoughts into someone else’s prescripted format. Some of the entries may be long and a few will simply be rants. Whatever the case, you are guaranteed to find some nugget of tax knowledge fitting for your situation with a dash of sarcasm or philosophy.

Since our clients are primarily engaged in multistate assignments, cross border employment or posted abroad, they share a common connection of working on the road, exploring the world or just planting themselves in a foreign land ….. travelers and nomads at heart.

Be sure to visit our website http://www.traveltax.com

Thanks for reading!

Next ASA Webinar

Our next webinar presentation for the American Staffing Association is coming up January 29.

Maintaining a Tax Home – What Travel Nurses Need to Know and Understand

Tax Home Webinar

New bill could lessen tax woes for Canadian residents with U.S. citizenship

Thousands of Canadian residents forced to pay income tax in both Canada and the United States could be about to get some respite. Learn more.

2019 Standard Mileage Rates Released

The IRS released the new standard rates for mileage deductions. They are:
58c/ mile for business
14c/mile charity
20c/mile medical
26c/mile depreciation

Keep in mind for 2019 to 2025, a taxpayer can no longer deduct employment expenses unless they are in the military, or performing artists. Self-employed individuals and businesses can still deduct their mileage expenses.

Creative Record Keeping

In a December 2017 tax court case in Canada, the taxpayer was asked to supply documentation for his expenses. The court record states:

…..In the course of the audit of the Corporation, the Appellant was asked to provide records to show the amount of the expenses which he said he had incurred for the Corporation. He gave the auditor three grocery bags of unsorted receipts. When he was asked to organize the receipts into some sort of coherent order, he said that he was unable to do so. The Appellant admitted in cross-examination that his record keeping was “shoddy”.

🙂

Comprehensive Links to the Class Action Suits Regarding OT Inclusion of per diems

A number or readers have asked me for this:

There are 3 class action suits with healthcare staffing firms and 1 trucking firm, each seeking to have the OT rate include the hourly taxable + hourly equivalent per diem. The premise for this is that some of the agencies in the class pay or penalize per diem by the hour.

Just because an agency is named in the suit does NOT mean that every agency listed is at fault. Dragging in some deep pockets is great marketing but merely that. Also beware of the hype when these suits are published. Instead of focusing on the issue, promoters will embellish the facts to lead a reader to believe that there is some universal injustice that needs to be corrected.

2018.02.17 Docket

2018.08 Denial of summary Judgement

Class Action Fastaff

ARN vs

Is the Restoration of Job Expense Deductions Possible?

A bill being introduced to restore job expenses for employees and even better, as an above the line deduction.

See the link: New Bill for Job Expense Deductions

The only problem with this is that all tax bills are required to start in the House, specifically in the Ways and Means committee. So ……. we will see

First Wave of State Tax Return Changes

The Federal tax overhaul changed the landscape for many state returns as they pull for items on the federal return. NY will now allow State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions in full on the NY return even if the taxpayer takes the standard deduction on the Federal return

In addition, Alimony and Moving expenses will continue to be allowed at the state level