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Originally Posted by nickbtubas
any hotel receipts and travel expenses to and from your job...
keep all your logs. cuase if you have a LONG layover somewhere (multiple days) you might get a higher per diem for that city. i was kept for three weeks in Ft. worth and i was able to deduct more than $52.
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Watch yourself if you're going to take that higher per diem in certain cities. You have to either take the standard rate for unlisted localities ($39) and use the published rate for the listed localities,
OR take the $52 a day everywhere.
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Amount of standard meal allowance. The standard meal allowance is the federal M&IE rate. For travel in 2006, the rate for most small localities in the United States is $39 a day from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006.
Most major cities and many other localities in the United States are designated as high-cost areas, qualifying for higher standard meal allowances. These rates are listed in Publication 1542, which is available on the Internet at www.irs.gov.
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Table 4. Maximum Federal Per Diem Rates (Effective October 1, 2006 - September 30, 2007) 1
Note: The standard rate of $99 ($60 for lodging and $39 for M&IE) applies to all locations within the continental United States (CONUS) not specifically listed below or encompassed by the boundary definition of a listed point. However, the standard CONUS rate applies to all locations within CONUS, including those defined below, for certain relocation allowances. (See parts 302-2, 302-4, and 302-5 of 41 CFR.)
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That's the background for the point I'm trying to make, which is as follows (emphasis added by underlining):
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Special rate for transportation workers. You can use a special standard meal allowance if you work in the transportation industry. You are in the transportation industry if your work:
Directly involves moving people or goods by airplane, barge, bus, ship, train, or truck, and
Regularly requires you to travel away from home and, during any single trip, usually involves travel to areas eligible for different standard meal allowance rates.
If this applies to you, you can claim a standard meal allowance of $52 a day ($58 for travel outside the continental United States) from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006.
Using the special rate for transportation workers eliminates the need for you to determine the standard meal allowance for every area where you stop for sleep or rest. If you choose to use the special rate for any trip, you must use the special rate (and not use the regular standard meal allowance rates) for all trips you take that year.
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Those are, of course, 2006 numbers, but the procedure still holds true.