Taxation of a Visiting Professorship After Tax Reform.

Abstract A professor away from his tax home on business may be eligible for travel expense deductions. A conflict exists between the Treasury and several courts over rules used to determine one's tax home including a recent Tax Court decision which rejects the duplicate living expense requirement. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 changed many of the rules applicable to deductions available to the traveling professor. Travel as a form of education is disallowed, and only 80 percent of meal and entertainment expenses now are deductible. Travel expenses are combined with other business expenses and are deductible as Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions to the extent they exceed two percent of adjusted gross income. Further, there are new restrictions on the deductibility of expenses associated with the rental of a personal residence while away from home. Careful planning and meticulous record keeping are required to maximize the allowable deduction amounts.