Can you write off business travel expenses if you get reimbursed? Tax deduction question

So I'm in a bit of a weird situation with my taxes this year. I work for a marketing agency and had to arrange this big client event in Denver. I ended up fronting about $3,700 for flights and hotel rooms for myself and two team members because our company credit card was maxed out (don't even get me started on our accounting department). The client eventually reimbursed me directly for all these expenses about 3 weeks later. Now I'm wondering if I can still deduct these business travel expenses on my taxes even though I got paid back for them? It was technically my money for a while and I took on the risk of fronting it. My accountant is on vacation until after the filing deadline and I need to figure this out ASAP. Any help would be appreciated!

0 coins

18 comments

StarStrider

•8M

I'm familiar with this situation. The short answer is no, you can't deduct business travel expenses that were reimbursed to you, because you didn't actually incur those expenses in the end. When you get reimbursed for business expenses, it's essentially a wash for tax purposes. You spent the money, but then you got it back, so there's no net expense to deduct. If you were to deduct those expenses anyway, it would be double-dipping - you'd be getting both the reimbursement AND a tax deduction for the same expenses. The only time you could potentially deduct business travel would be if you weren't fully reimbursed (like if the client only paid back part of what you spent), or if your employer included the reimbursement in your taxable wages on your W-2. But that doesn't sound like your situation.

0 coins

StarStrider

•8M

Yes, that's exactly right. If your employer includes the reimbursement in your W-2 income (Box 1), then you would be able to deduct those expenses as unreimbursed employee business expenses - but there's a catch. Unfortunately, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for unreimbursed employee business expenses from 2018 through 2025. So even if the reimbursements are included in your taxable income, you generally can't deduct them on your federal return unless you're in certain specific professions like armed forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, or eligible educators.

0 coins

Nia Thompson

•8M

I was in almost the exact same situation last year. I fronted about $5,000 for a business trip and waited nearly a month to get reimbursed. I found this amazing tool called https://taxr.ai that really helped me understand my options. I uploaded my receipts and reimbursement records, and it clearly explained why I couldn't take a deduction for reimbursed expenses. The tool also flagged that if I had any unreimbursed portion of my expenses (which I did - about $150 in extra meals), I needed to handle those differently. It even helped me understand the documentation I needed to keep in case of an audit. Really worth checking out if you have complex business expense situations.

0 coins

Nia Thompson

•8M

Yes, it absolutely handles international travel! It actually has a specific feature for currency conversion that makes it super easy to track expenses in different currencies. You just enter the original amount and it automatically converts it using the correct exchange rate for that date. Saved me hours of work on my trips to Europe. The big difference from TurboTax is that taxr.ai specifically analyzes documents and receipts, not just numbers you enter. It extracts all the relevant info from your receipts, categorizes expenses properly, and flags potential issues like mixing business and personal expenses. Traditional tax software just takes whatever numbers you give it without analyzing the underlying documentation.

0 coins

Aisha Abdullah

•8M

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after my initial skepticism. Wow, what a difference! I uploaded all my business travel docs from a conference in Toronto, and it immediately flagged that my meal expenses exceeded the per diem rates and would likely trigger an audit flag. It also helped me properly document the business purpose of each expense. The document analysis is definitely what sets it apart. It extracted information from my receipts that I would have missed and organized everything by tax category. Thanks for the recommendation - definitely worth it for anyone who travels for business regularly!

0 coins

Ethan Wilson

•8M

If you still have questions about how to handle these reimbursed expenses, I'd recommend trying to get answers directly from the IRS. I was in a similar situation last year and spent HOURS trying to get through to someone at the IRS who could give me a clear answer. After weeks of frustration, I found a service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that got me connected to an IRS agent in under 15 minutes. You can see a demo of how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c It saved me from making a major mistake on my taxes related to business expense reimbursements. The IRS agent explained exactly how to report everything correctly, which was different from what my coworkers had told me to do.

0 coins

Ethan Wilson

•8M

It works by using a technology that continually redials the IRS using their optimal call routing system. It basically does the waiting for you and then calls you when it gets through to a person. I was skeptical too when I first heard about it! Definitely not a scam - I understand the skepticism because the IRS wait times are infamous. The service basically automates the redial process that some people do manually. It took my call and kept trying different IRS numbers and menu options until it found an opening, then connected me right away. Saved me from spending an entire day with a phone on speaker redial.

0 coins

Yuki Tanaka

•8M

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I was desperate to resolve an issue with my business expense deductions before filing, so I tried it anyway. The service connected me to an IRS representative in about 27 minutes (not quite the "under 15" advertised but WAY better than my previous attempts). The agent clarified that in my specific situation, I could partially deduct some expenses because my reimbursement was coded incorrectly by my employer. This literally saved me over $800 on my tax bill. I would have never figured this out without being able to speak directly to someone at the IRS. For anyone with complex business expense questions that need official answers, being able to actually reach the IRS is invaluable.

0 coins

Carmen Diaz

•8M

Just want to add something important here - make sure you're keeping ALL your receipts for these business travel expenses, even if they were reimbursed. The IRS requires documentation for business expenses regardless of reimbursement status. I learned this the hard way during an audit 2 years ago. Even though I correctly didn't deduct reimbursed expenses, they still wanted to see the original receipts and proof of reimbursement. The auditor specifically looked at the timing between when I paid and when I was reimbursed.

0 coins

Carmen Diaz

•8M

You should keep receipts and documentation for at least 3 years from the date you filed the return. That's the standard statute of limitations for IRS audits. However, if they suspect significant underreporting of income, they can go back 6 years, so many tax professionals recommend keeping records for 7 years to be safe. Yes, absolutely keep proof of the reimbursement! This is crucial. Keep copies of any reimbursement checks, bank deposits, expense reports you submitted, and emails confirming approval of your expenses. The IRS wants to see the complete paper trail from initial expense to final reimbursement. During my audit, they specifically wanted to see both the original receipts AND the corresponding reimbursement proof.

0 coins