Tax Return

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

Technically true, I'm sure, but that still doesn't change the fact that your place of business is not considered to be your home by the IRS unless you have a distinct office space set aside for that purpose and only that purpose. Your kitchen table will not count. Most referees don't have a place of business at all.

You are confusing the rules for the deductibility of a home office with rules for establishing a principal place of business.

As such, driving to/from a game from/to your home is considered commuting miles by the IRS, according to the article...and according to what I've heard before. Driving between from one game to another in a day is business miles. Driving from your day job to your game is business miles. Driving BACK to your day job after the game is business miles.

That's a minority opinion.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

You are confusing the rules for the deductibility of a home office with rules for establishing a principal place of business.

I'm not confusing them at all. The point of the examples in the previously cited IRS publications was that the deductability of the miles was directly related to the deductability of a home office.

Originally Posted by Eastshire

That's a minority opinion.

The only opinion that matters is that of the IRS. If you get audited and their examples in their publications pretty much say you can't deduct them, the opinion of 100 accountants will not matter.

Requoting the cites made by Altor from the IRS pubs...

Originally Posted by UncleSam

Publication 463

Quote:
Office in the home.
If you have an office in your home that qualifies as a principal place of business, you can deduct your daily transportation costs between your home and another work location in the same trade or business. (See Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home, for information on determining if your home office qualifies as a principal place of business.)

Publication 587

Quote:
Your home office will qualify as your principal place of business if you meet the following requirements.
· You use it exclusively and regularly for administrative or management activities of your trade or business.
· You have no other fixed location where you conduct substantial administrative or management activities of your trade or business.

Also, Examples 1 and 2 that begin at the bottom of page 4 would seem to apply to officials.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

That's a minority opinion.

Another citation form IRS pub 463 (note example 3 in particular)....

Examples of deductible transportation. The following examples show when you can deduct transportation expenses based on the location of your work and your home.

...

Example 2.

Your principal place of business is in your home. You can deduct the cost of round-trip transportation between your qualifying home office and your client's or customer's place of business.

Example 3.

You have no regular office, and you do not have an office in your home. In this case, the location of your first business contact is considered your office. Transportation expenses between your home and this first contact are nondeductible commuting expenses. Transportation expenses between your last business contact and your home are also nondeductible commuting expenses. Although you cannot deduct the costs of these trips, you can deduct the costs of going from one client or customer to another.