Travel expenses are expenses incurred while a
taxpayer is working for their employer away from their
tax home. To be
deductible, the the
travel expenses must be
ordinary and
necessary, plus
they must not be
personal or be prohibited by any section of the tax code.
IRS Publication
463 and Tax Topic 511 linked to below provide useful information about
travel expenses.
Pilots and flight attendants incur travel
expenses while working. These travel expenses include, but are not limited
to, meals and
incidental
expenses which can be a significant portion of a flight crewmember's
employee
business expenses.
M&IE expenses are written off via the
per diem deduction.
If an employee business expense is considered a travel expense and that specific
travel expense is less than $75 (as of 2007), then a receipt (or some other form
of documentary
evidence) is not necessary to deduct the expense. Even though a
receipt might not be required for travel expenses less than $75,
proper records must still be kept.
In other words, all expenses must be
substantiated
with proper
recordkeeping techniques.