Travel Deductions for Real Estate Agents

New Course! Learn to correct depreciation errors using Form 3115

Topics Covered

The Four Tests for Deductible Business Travel
The Primary Business Purpose of Deductible Business Travel
Deductibility of In-Transit Travel Days
Business Days Vs Personal Days
The Ever-Important Business Sandwich Day
Comprehensive Travel Examples
What is Deductible on Business Trip
Whose Costs are Deductible When Taking Others
Substantiating Business Purpose and Travel Costs
Being (Very) Careful with Business Cruises
Deducting Meals During Business Travel
Using the Per Diem Standard Meal Allowance
Deductible Incidental Expenses
Travel Days & Standard Meal Allowance
Standard Meal Allowance Examples
Proving Standard Meal Allowance Deduction
Claiming Actual Business Meal Costs
Business Meals During Business Travel
Note: Foreign Travel is Not Discussed

What's better than a vacation? How about getting a 30% to 40% discount on a vacation! As a real estate agent, you spend a lot of traveling to make sales, get listings and learning about the technical art of selling real estate. Overnight travel is a part of the business for many agents. It is also tax-deductible. Conferences and seminars are also deductible and, when properly planned, can even make a substantial portion of a business-based vacation deductible. In this course, you will learn to maximize the deduction-power of your business travel! Every $1,000 deduction can save $300 to $400 in tax!

Twenty-plus years of preparing tax returns for real estate agents has revealed that most agents don't maximize the deductions available for their business travel.

Why? There are two primary reasons:

The real estate agent fails to structure business-related travel, so it qualifies for a deduction, or
The real estate agent fails to keep adequate records to prove that a deductible business trip was a legitimate deduction.

Business travel and even the cost of some vacations are legitimate tax deductions. Such deductions, however, are commonly questioned by the IRS and are often denied for one of the two reasons listed above. What’s worse? Many real estate agents forgo this valuable deduction because they don’t understand the rules & fear IRS scrutiny. Ridiculous!

This is what makes the Real Estate Agent: Travel Deduction course such a valuable asset. It will help you to plan your business-related travel and cut your most substantial expense: TAXES! It will also help you substantiate and audit-proof your deduction.

We want you to keep more of your hard earned money in YOUR pocket, and there’s only one way to do that: Maximizing Legitimate Tax Deductions.

Our Real Estate Agent: Travel Deduction course is designed to help you maximize this valuable deduction. You will learn how to structure your business travel to ensure it is deductible and audit-proof.

Maximize the value of your business trip deduction and even make some vacations tax deductible! For middle-class real estate agents, every $1,000 in deductions equals $300 to $400 in tax savings! Put more money in your pocket with Overnight Accountant’s Real Estate Agent: Travel Deduction course!

Notes:

This course does not cover foreign travel.
Please disregard any references to entertainment. The entertainment deduction was eliminated by the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017.
Business meals with others and local business meals are taught in our Real Estate Agent, Meals Deduction Course.

Lesson Listing

Here is a list of the lessons in this course and a brief description of what you'll learn in each lesson.

Introduction to Course
In the introduction to our Realtors Travel Deductions course, we discuss what to expect and how to use the course.
Challenges and Four Basic Travel Tests
This lesson will provide an overview of the travel deduction as it applies to realtors. It will discuss some of the challenges that make the travel deduction elusive for many realtors and dangerous for others, and teach the four tests overnight travel must meet to be deductible. It will also explain what constitutes a “business day” for tax purposes while paying particular attention to making sure the primary purpose of your trip is business.
Deductible Trips & Substantiation
Lesson two teaches about the ever-important “sandwich day” and how business days vs. personal days impact the deductibility of travel costs. It provides examples of how business days influence deductible vs. non-deductible travel. This lesson covers which travel costs are deductible and the types of trips that are deductible. It also includes the types of documentation you need to prove deductible business travel. Finally, it will share some business trips to be wary of such as seminars on cruises and additional information required to substantiate this deduction.
Deductible Travel Meals
Lesson three covers the meals you can deduct while on business travel. It will teach you about the standard meal allowance, how to calculate it on business days and travel days, and what proof you will need to substantiate your deduction with the IRS. This lesson will also teach you how to deduct the actual cost of your business travel meals, which may prove to be a higher deduction than the standard meal allowance.

Note: This lesson references other lessons regarding business meals. These lessons are included in the (Local) Business Meals Course and the Realtor Comprehensive Tax-Cut Course.

All courses and articles are for informational purposes only and do not constitute tax advice. Taxes are complicated - do not act on course information without consulting a professional. Always refer to treasury regulation before making any tax decision. Read the full disclaimer.

Customers Say…

Great class! It provided step-by-step instruction, which I was able to use in my practice right away. I was unsure whether or not to pay for this class since I found it via YouTube, but to those on the fence, I feel confident that the teacher is an expert in this area, and the materials and videos are well worth the price. I will be checking in with them in the future for more continuing education.
- Mandala, Arcata, CA, Correcting Depreciation Errors - Using Form 3115 Course
I really appreciate you doing the class. It was quite helpful.
- Debbie Y, Greensboro, NC, 1099-NEC & 1099-MISC Course (Training Edition) Course
This course package is thorough and will give you a solid handle on how to optimize your business expenses to minimize your taxes and keep appropriate records to handle any IRS challenges. Only want to dive into a particular topic? Jump to that video and scan forward to where your issue is addressed. Or watch the whole series to learn it all!
- Josh, Charles Town, WV, Real Estate Agent Tax-Cut Library, Agent Edition Course
The course did meet my needs and clarified several fine points that the IRS instructions did not make clear to my brain.
- Joe, VT, 1120-H Basics Course
The course was excruciatingly detailed, which I appreciate. I definitely recommend this course to anyone who even thinks they may need it.
- Greg, Brookfield, IL, 1099-MISC Basics Course