Can Publication 463 Travel Expenses apply to yearly work assignment changes across NYC counties?

I've been working in NYC for several years but I actually live in New Jersey, about an hour outside the city. My job involves yearly assignments that change location - like last year I was working in Manhattan, the year before that in Queens, and now I'm in Brooklyn. Each assignment lasts exactly one year before I get moved to a different county within NYC. I've been wondering if I can claim travel expenses under Publication 463 since technically my work location keeps changing? The commute costs are killing me (almost $4,800 a year between tolls and transit) and I'm trying to figure out if there's any tax relief available since my workplace isn't "permanent" in the traditional sense. Would these yearly location changes qualify me for any deductions? I've never claimed anything like this before so I'm completely lost.

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18 comments

Rita Jacobs

•8M

I understand your situation regarding the changing work locations across NYC counties. Unfortunately, I don't think this would qualify for travel expense deductions under Publication 463. The IRS generally considers your "tax home" to be the entire metropolitan area where you work, not just a specific building or county within that area. For travel expenses to be deductible, you generally need to be traveling away from your "tax home" substantially longer than an ordinary day's work and need sleep or rest. Moving between counties within NYC, while inconvenient, is still considered within your general metropolitan work area.

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Rita Jacobs

•8M

You're asking about an important distinction. According to Publication 463, a temporary work assignment is one that's expected to last (and actually does last) for one year or less. However, there's a catch - if your work is in the same metropolitan area as your tax home, these temporary assignment rules don't apply for deduction purposes. The IRS considers the entire NYC metropolitan area as a single "tax home" location if that's your regular place of employment, regardless of which specific county you're working in. If you were temporarily assigned to work in, say, Philadelphia or Albany for less than a year, that would potentially qualify for travel expense deductions.

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Khalid Howes

•8M

After struggling with similar work location issues, I discovered a super helpful tool called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that actually saved me from making a costly mistake on my travel deductions. I was about to claim some expenses for moving between work locations in the same city until their tool analyzed my situation and clarified the "tax home" concept that the previous commenter mentioned. The site has this document analysis feature where you can upload your specific situation and employment details, and it tells you exactly what you can and can't deduct according to Publication 463. What I found most helpful was how it explained my "metropolitan area" limitations in plain English and then suggested legitimate deductions I could actually claim instead.

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Khalid Howes

•8M

The tool uses both AI and tax professional validation, which is why I found it more reliable than TurboTax for these specific situations. TurboTax doesn't always dig into the details of Publication 463 for complex commuting situations, and that's where people often miss important distinctions. Regarding human oversight, the platform has tax professionals who review edge cases and provide additional guidance when needed. What impressed me was how it found legitimate deductions I could take instead of the commuting expenses I thought I could claim. It's not just saying "no" to deductions - it helps find alternatives.

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Ben Cooper

•8M

Just wanted to update on my experience with taxr.ai that was mentioned above. I actually tried it out after commenting here and was surprised by how straightforward it was. I uploaded my W-2 and answered some questions about my work locations, and it clearly explained why my situation didn't qualify for travel deductions under Publication 463. The most helpful part was that it suggested I could claim some home office deductions since I occasionally work from home, which I hadn't even considered. It walked me through exactly what qualified and what documentation I needed to keep. Definitely worth checking out if you're dealing with complex work location situations.

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Cynthia Love

•8M

If you're still trying to get clarity on your Publication 463 situation, you might want to speak directly with an IRS representative. I was in a similar position last year with changing work locations and tried calling the IRS for months. Always got the "high call volume" message until I found Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). They have this service that actually gets you through to a real IRS person, usually within about 15 minutes. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. I was skeptical at first, but it saved me hours of redial hell. The IRS agent I spoke with explained exactly how the "tax home" concept applies to metropolitan areas like NYC and cleared up my confusion about temporary work assignments within the same city.

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Cynthia Love

•8M

It doesn't bypass the system - it uses technology to handle the waiting and calling process for you. Essentially, it continuously redials and navigates the IRS phone tree using their system, then calls you once it gets through to a representative. You're still in the same queue as everyone else, but you don't have to personally sit there hitting redial for hours. The system actually works with several government agencies, not just the IRS. I was just as skeptical as you are, which is why I shared the video link showing how it works. I've used it twice now, and both times I was connected to the IRS within about 15-20 minutes of starting the process, saving me what would have been hours of frustration.

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Rosie Harper

•8M

I need to eat my words about Claimyr from my comment above. After posting that skeptical response, I decided to try it myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about an audit notice for weeks. I figured I'd either confirm it was a scam or maybe actually get help. Well, I'm shocked to say it actually worked. Started the process at 10:15am, got a call back at 10:34am, and was speaking with an actual IRS representative who answered my questions about my audit notice. They didn't magically get me to the front of any line, but their system handled all the waiting and phone tree navigation that would have kept me chained to my phone all day. For the original poster: The IRS agent I talked to confirmed what others here said about Publication 463 - changing work locations within NYC wouldn't qualify for travel deductions since it's all considered one "tax home.

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Elliott luviBorBatman

•8M

I went through a similar situation last year with rotating work sites around Chicago. Here's what I learned after consulting with a tax professional: you might qualify for a deduction if your home is your "principal place of business" and you're traveling TO these temporary work sites FROM your home office. Do you do any work from home? If so, and if that home office is used exclusively and regularly for business, you might have a case for deducting travel from there to your temporary work locations. This is different from normal commuting expenses which aren't deductible.

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Elliott luviBorBatman

•8M

Working from home only 1-2 days a month likely wouldn't be enough to qualify your home as a "principal place of business." For this approach to work, your home office would need to be: 1) Used exclusively and regularly for business (a dedicated space), and 2) The primary place where you conduct your business activities, or where you conduct administrative/management activities if you have no other fixed location for those tasks. Regarding audit risk, it's not worth claiming something questionable. The IRS has been increasing scrutiny on home office and travel deductions, especially when the amounts are substantial. Instead, focus on maximizing other legitimate deductions like retirement contributions, health savings accounts, or educational expenses if applicable to your situation.

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