Cruise as a business tax write off

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, clo said:

We've been audited just once a few decades ago. Bob actually taught the auditor something 🙂

Yes, do not assume that the IRS is all knowing and always right.

 

Way more than a few decades ago, I worked for a firm that prepared tax returns, I was the checker (and the emergency everything because you had to know how to do anything in order to check). This was way back before computers were used to do tax returns.

 

A gentleman came in and according to the IRS, we had not done his return properly, My boss handed me his return and told me to find our error and discreetly let him know what it was. Now when the person had come in, I overheard him say he had had to come in in the off season (I was not there then) and get a new schedule B (interest income) because the IRS had shredded his.

 

I went over our copy of the return a few times meticulously and could not find an error. I decided to work it backwards, starting from the tax he owed the IRS and see if I could find a discrepancy. Sure enough, I did. It was off by the difference between the standard deduction and the schedule A (itemized deductions). The IRS must have also shredded his schedule A, but instead of asking for a new one defaulted to a standard deduction. I literally 🤦‍♂️ realizing that I had spent so much time when there was that huge clue. In addition, my boss and I should not have assumed we were the ones in error since the tag on our copy said he prepared it and I had checked it. He basically made no errors (others did), and I was very good at finding errors if they existed.

 

I then let my boss know what had really happened when the IRS got the return.

 

 

[mnocket]

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, do not assume that the IRS is all knowing and always right.

 

Way more than a few decades ago, I worked for a firm that prepared tax returns, I was the checker (and the emergency everything because you had to know how to do anything in order to check). This was way back before computers were used to do tax returns.

 

A gentleman came in and according to the IRS, we had not done his return properly, My boss handed me his return and told me to find our error and discreetly let him know what it was. Now when the person had come in, I overheard him say he had had to come in in the off season (I was not there then) and get a new schedule B (interest income) because the IRS had shredded his.

 

I went over our copy of the return a few times meticulously and could not find an error. I decided to work it backwards, starting from the tax he owed the IRS and see if I could find a discrepancy. Sure enough, I did. It was off by the difference between the standard deduction and the schedule A (itemized deductions). The IRS must have also shredded his schedule A, but instead of asking for a new one defaulted to a standard deduction. I literally 🤦‍♂️ realizing that I had spent so much time when there was that huge clue. In addition, my boss and I should not have assumed we were the ones in error since the tag on our copy said he prepared it and I had checked it. He basically made no errors (others did), and I was very good at finding errors if they existed.

 

I then let my boss know what had really happened when the IRS got the return.

 

 

Yeah, the IRS is one of few places where Innocent until proven guilty doesn't apply.  You have to prove your innocence. 

[Rib Jig]

online forums are places where one develops the skill
of detecting rare authoritative HELPFUL comments;

thank you NJHorseman for your advice wrt IRS publ. 463;
sadly those who are NOT self-employed cannot comprehend
that a cruise could be fully deductible...

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Rib Jig said:

online forums are places where one develops the skill
of detecting rare authoritative HELPFUL comments;

thank you NJHorseman for your advice wrt IRS publ. 463;
sadly those who are NOT self-employed cannot comprehend
that a cruise could be fully deductible...

Transportation is transportation, as long  as at the end of the line is business or at least in part substantially business.   I often used cruises as they can cost less than airfare. 

Edited June 16 by Mary229