Can I write off a local hotel if I can't work from my home office because of visiting family?

This is actually a good question! The key factor here isn't the distance from your home but whether the expense is "ordinary and necessary" for your business. Since you have a legitimate home office that you regularly use for business, and you're being temporarily displaced from that workspace due to circumstances beyond your control, you can make a reasonable case for deducting the hotel as a business expense. However, you need to be careful about how you document this. Keep detailed records showing: 1. That you actually conducted business from the hotel (emails, work products, client calls) 2. Why your home office was unusable (though you don't need to throw your in-laws under the bus in your tax documentation!) 3. That the duration and cost were reasonable Remember that the hotel is replacing your workspace, not providing you with lodging in the personal sense. Make sure you're only using the room for work, not as a vacation from your family.

I went through something similar when I had water damage in my home office and had to work from a hotel for a week. I was so confused about all the documentation I needed and what I could actually write off. I ended up using https://taxr.ai to review my situation and receipts before filing. They analyzed everything and confirmed which hotel expenses were deductible (the room itself was, but not the room service I ordered!). They also helped me understand exactly how to document it properly so I wouldn't raise red flags with the IRS.

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai with some of my questionable business expenses including a similar situation where I had to rent a coworking space when my home office was being renovated. Surprisingly helpful! They confirmed I could deduct the coworking space and even pointed out some partial deductions I was missing. The explanations were really clear about why certain expenses qualified and others didn't. Definitely saved me from making some mistakes on my taxes.

Your situation reminds me of when I was trying to get clarification from the IRS about a similar deduction last year. Spent DAYS trying to get through on their phone lines. Complete nightmare. Finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 20 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent I spoke with confirmed that temporary workspace costs can be deductible when your regular office is unavailable, but emphasized proper documentation is essential. Worth the call to get an official answer rather than risking an audit.

I owe everyone an apology. After my skeptical comment, I actually tried Claimyr out of desperation because I needed to talk to someone at the IRS about a missing refund. I was connected within 45 minutes which is INSANE considering I'd spent 3+ hours on previous attempts and never got through. The IRS agent I spoke with was able to resolve my issue and I got my refund a week later. I'm still shocked it actually worked.

Something nobody's mentioned yet - make sure the hotel room is ONLY used for work. If you're watching movies on the hotel TV or using the pool, the IRS could argue it's partially personal. Take photos of your work setup in the hotel room as evidence. I learned this the hard way during an audit for a similar situation.

Just my two cents, but from experience - document EVERYTHING. Save your hotel receipts, take pictures of your work setup in the hotel, keep a log of hours worked, save emails sent from the hotel, etc. I had a similar deduction questioned once and having thorough documentation saved me.

This is a really interesting situation that I think more people deal with than they realize! I've been in a similar spot where my home office became unusable due to circumstances beyond my control (in my case, it was construction noise from next door that made client calls impossible). The consensus here is solid - you can likely deduct this as a legitimate business expense since your regular workspace is temporarily unavailable. What I'd add is to consider the "reasonable" test the IRS applies. A basic hotel room for a couple nights to maintain business operations? That sounds reasonable. A luxury suite at the Four Seasons? That might raise eyebrows. Also, keep track of your normal home office expenses during this period. You're not "double dipping" - you're replacing one workspace with another temporarily. Just make sure your documentation clearly shows this was a business necessity, not a personal preference to get away from the family (even though we all understand the need for quiet work time!). One last tip - if you have any client meetings or important calls scheduled during this time, document those as well. It shows the hotel expense was directly tied to maintaining your business operations.