Department Overview

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Employer Provided Travel

For tax purposes, travel expenses are the ordinary and necessary expenses of traveling away from home for your business, profession, or job. An ordinary expense is on that is common and accepted in your field of business, trade or profession. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate to your business.

See Publication 463 Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Expenses

Filing Statuses

Single - Your filing status is single if you are unmarried or separated from your spouse by a divorce or separate maintenance decree, and you do not qualify for another filing status. Your filing status may be single if you were widowed before January 1, of the tax year, and did not remarry in the tax year.
Married Filing Jointly - You can choose married filing jointly as your filing status if you are married and both you and your spouse agree to file a joint return. On a joint return, you report your combined income and deduct combined allowable expenses.
Married Filing Separately - You can choose married filing separately as your filing status if you are married. This method may benefit you if you want to be responsible only for your own tax or if this method results in less tax than a joint return. If you can your spouse do not agree to file a joint return, you may have to use this filing status.
Head of Household - You may be able to file as head of household if you are unmarried or considered unmarried on the last day of the year. In addition, you must have paid more than half the cost of keeping up a home for you and a qualifying person for more than half the year.
Qualifying Widower With Dependent Child - You may be eligible to use qualifying widow(er) with dependent child as your filing status for 2 years following the year of death of your spouse.

See Publication 501 Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information

Household Employers

If you pay someone to come to your home and care for your dependent or spouse, you may be a household employer who has to have an employer identification number (EIN) and pay employment taxes. If the individuals who work in your home are self-employed, you are not liable for any of the taxes.

See Publication 926 Household Employer's Tax Guide

Hobby Expenses

You can generally deduct hobby expenses, but only up to the amount of hobby income. A hobby is not a business because it is not carried on to make a profit.

See Publication 525 Taxable and Nontaxable Income

Interest Income

Taxable interest includes interest you receive from bank accounts, loans you make to others, and interest from most other sources.

See Publication 550 Investment Income and Expenses

Life Insurance

Life insurance proceeds paid to you as beneficiary of the insured person are not usually taxable. But if you receive the proceeds in installments, you must usually report a part of each installment payment as interest income.

See Publication 525 Life Insurance Proceeds

Loans (Mortgage)

Generally home mortgage interest is any interest you pay on a loan secured by your home(s). The loan may be a mortgage to buy your home, a second mortgage, a line of credit, or a home equity loan. Interest should be reported to you on a Form 1098.

See Publication 936 Home Mortgage Interest Deduction

Meals and Lodging

Business

- Deductible travel expenses include those ordinary and necessary expenses you incur while traveling away from home on business. You cannot deduct the cost of meals if it is not necessary for you to stop for sleep or rest to properly perform your duties unless you meet the rules for business entertainment. You can use either the actual cost of your meals or a standard amount to figure your meals expense. When you travel away from home on business, you should keep records of all the expenses you incur and any advances you receive from your employer.

Medical - You can include in medical expenses the cost of meals and lodging at a hospital or similar institution if your main reason for being there is to receive medical care. You may be able to include in medical expenses the cost of lodging not provided in a hospital or similar institution. you can include the cost of such lodging while away from home if you meet all of the following requirements:

The lodging is primarily for and essential to medical care.
The medical care is provided by a doctor in a licensed hospital or in a medical care facility related to, or the equivalent of, a licensed hospital.
The lodging is not lavish or extravagant under the circumstances.
There is no significant element of personal pleasure, recreation, or vacation in the travel away from home.

See Publication 463 Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses
See Publication 502 Medical and Dental Expenses

Medical and Dental Expenses Checklist

Birth control pills prescribed by your doctor
Oxygen equipment and oxygen
Capital expenses for equipment for improvements to your home needed for medical care
Part of life-care fee paid to retirement home designated for medical care
Cost and care of guide dogs or other animals, aiding the blind, deaf, and disabled
Prescription medicines
Cost of lead-based paint removal
Psychiatric care at a specially equipped medical center
Expenses of an organ donor
Hospital services fees
Legal abortion
Legal operation to prevent having children
Long-term care contracts, qualified
Special items (artificial limbs, false teeth, eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, crutches, wheelchairs, etc.)
Meals and lodging provided by a hospital during medical treatment
Medical and hospital insurance premiums
Special school or home for mentally or physically disabled persons
Transportation for needed medical care
Medical savings accounts
Treatment at a drug or alcoholic center
Medical services fees
Wages for nursing services

See Publication 502 Medical and Dental Expenses