Started travel blog LLC - Can I deduct my entire 15-day vacation if I write blog posts & earn affiliate revenue?

This is a classic area where people often get into trouble with the IRS. While your travel blog LLC idea has potential for legitimate business deductions, you need to be extremely careful about how you approach this. First, the IRS will look at whether your travel blog is actually a business or just a hobby. To be considered a business, you need to operate with the intent to make a profit and demonstrate that by showing a profit in at least 3 of 5 consecutive years. For the travel expenses specifically, you can only deduct expenses that are "ordinary and necessary" for your business. This doesn't mean you can't enjoy your trip, but the primary purpose must be business. The IRS will look at factors like: - How much time you spent on business activities vs. leisure - Whether the locations you visited were necessary for your business content - If your activities were directly related to producing income You should document everything meticulously - keep a daily log of business activities, save receipts, and clearly separate personal from business expenses. For meals, you can typically only deduct 50% of the cost. Remember, simply writing a blog post about a location doesn't automatically make your entire stay there deductible. The expenses must be directly connected to your business purpose.

After spending hours researching this exact situation for my travel photography business, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it was incredibly helpful. Their AI analyzed my specific business structure and gave me personalized guidance on exactly what travel expenses I could deduct and what documentation I needed. I uploaded my past travel receipts and business records, and it showed me which expenses might trigger audit flags and which were clearly deductible. The analysis even helped me understand the difference between "directly related" and "associated with" business activities - turns out there's a big difference in deductibility! It also helped me set up the right documentation system moving forward. Way better than the generic advice I was finding online that didn't address the specific LLC blog scenario.

I was really skeptical about using taxr.ai at first, but I finally tried it for my situation (travel photographer with mixed personal/business trips) and wow - it was eye-opening. The analysis showed me I was actually UNDER-deducting legitimate business expenses while simultaneously taking some risky deductions I shouldn't have been. The documentation templates it provided specifically for content creators were perfect. I reorganized how I track my travel expenses based on their guidance, and it's made everything so much clearer. My accountant was impressed with how well-organized everything was this year! The best part was getting clear guidance on mixed-use situations like when I bring my partner along on trips. Now I understand exactly what portion is deductible and have the right documentation to back it up.

If you're going to start deducting travel expenses through an LLC, you should expect questions from the IRS. I tried calling them directly to get clarity on some similar deductions for my content creation business and spent DAYS trying to get through. I finally used Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) and it was a game-changer. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes instead of the hours I was spending on hold. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent was actually super helpful about what documentation I needed to keep for my travel expenses and gave me specific guidance on separating business vs. personal time. Having that conversation saved me from making some major mistakes with my deductions.

I'm genuinely embarrassed to admit I was wrong about Claimyr. After posting that skeptical comment, I was so frustrated with my ongoing IRS situation that I decided to try it anyway - and it actually worked exactly as advertised. Got connected to an IRS representative in about 20 minutes after weeks of failing to get through on my own. The agent helped resolve my withholding issue and also answered my questions about travel expense documentation for my side business. For anyone doing significant business deductions especially in gray areas like travel expenses, being able to actually speak with the IRS directly is invaluable. The peace of mind from getting official guidance was worth every penny.

Accountant here. There's a lot of misunderstanding about travel deductions. A few important points: 1. The IRS isn't stupid. They've seen the "start a blog to deduct my vacation" strategy countless times. If your blog makes $200 in affiliate revenue but you're deducting $8,000 in travel expenses, that's an immediate red flag. 2. The "primary purpose" test is key. If you spend 2 hours each day taking photos and writing, but 10 hours sightseeing and relaxing, it's primarily personal. 3. Consider the tax math: If your blog loses money every year, you might be able to deduct those losses against other income. BUT, after consistent losses, the IRS will likely reclassify it as a hobby, disallow those deductions, and potentially look back at previous years. 4. Documentation is crucial - keep a daily activity log, business receipts separate from personal, and clearly track the direct connection between expenses and income production.

Something no one's mentioned yet - you can absolutely deduct SOME expenses, but be strategic. Here's what I'd suggest: - Day 1: Travel to destination, set up equipment, scout locations (100% business) - Days 2-14: Mix of personal enjoyment and content creation (partial business) - Day 15: Travel home, organize content (100% business) For the mixed days, track hours spent working vs personal time. If you spend 4+ hours creating content, that can potentially justify that day's lodging. I did something similar with my crafting business - went to Paris, attended workshops, visited suppliers, and documented everything meticulously. Deducted about 60% of the trip costs and survived an audit no problem.

As someone who's been running a content creation business for several years, I want to emphasize something crucial that I learned the hard way: the IRS doesn't just look at your current year deductions - they look at patterns over time. When I started my YouTube channel, I thought I could deduct almost everything if I filmed content during trips. After getting audited in year 3, I learned that the IRS had been watching my expense-to-revenue ratios across multiple years. What saved me was having detailed documentation showing genuine business development over time - subscriber growth, revenue increases, and most importantly, evidence that I was actively working to improve profitability. Here's my practical advice: Start small with your deductions in year one. Maybe deduct 30-40% of trip costs while you build legitimate revenue streams. Keep a detailed daily log of business activities (not just "took photos" but "spent 3 hours photographing Hotel X lobby and amenities for review post, 2 hours editing photos, 1 hour writing notes for blog content"). Also, consider getting an EIN for your LLC and opening a dedicated business bank account immediately. Pay all business expenses from that account only. This separation makes everything cleaner if you ever face scrutiny. The goal isn't to maximize deductions in year one - it's to build a sustainable, defensible business structure that can support larger deductions as your revenue grows.

This thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm in a similar situation - just started a travel photography side business and have been nervous about taking any travel deductions. One thing I'm still unclear on: if I'm traveling somewhere primarily for personal reasons (like visiting family), but I also create some business content while there, can I deduct any portion of that trip? Or does the "primary purpose" test mean it has to be 51%+ business to qualify for any deductions at all? For example, if I'm visiting my parents for a week but spend one full day doing a photoshoot for a local business and create content about the area, is that day's expenses deductible? Or does the primarily personal nature of the overall trip disqualify everything? I've been so conservative that I haven't deducted anything, but reading everyone's experiences makes me think I might be leaving legitimate deductions on the table.

Just wanted to add another perspective as someone who's been running a travel blog LLC for 3 years now. The biggest mistake I see new bloggers make is thinking they can immediately deduct a luxury vacation by calling it "business research." Here's what actually worked for me: I started with shorter, lower-cost trips that were clearly business-focused. Think weekend trips to nearby cities where I could produce multiple pieces of content, interview local business owners, and document everything thoroughly. This helped establish a pattern of legitimate business activity before I attempted longer, more expensive trips. Also, don't underestimate the importance of having actual contracts or agreements in place. When I travel now, I often have pre-arranged partnerships with hotels, restaurants, or tourism boards. Having these formal business relationships makes the business purpose crystal clear and provides much stronger documentation than just saying "I'll write about it later." One practical tip: Consider the "but for" test. Would you have taken this exact trip, to these exact locations, staying in these exact places, "but for" your business? If the honest answer is that you would have taken a similar vacation anyway, you're in dangerous territory for deductions. The travel blog business model absolutely works for legitimate deductions, but it requires patience, documentation, and genuine business development - not just slapping an LLC label on your vacation plans.