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OPINION
Section 162(a)(2) allows a taxpayer to deduct traveling
expenses, including amounts expended for meals and lodging, if
such expenses are (1) ordinary and necessary; (2) incurred while
away from home; and (3) incurred in the pursuit of a trade or
business. Commissioner v. Flowers, 326 U.S. 465, 470 (1946).
For purposes of section 162, generally "home" (or tax home) means
the vicinity of the taxpayer's principal place of business or
employment. Mitchell v. Commissioner, 74 T.C. 578, 581 (1980);
Bixler v. Commissioner, 5 B.T.A. 1181, 1184 (1927). A taxpayer's
residence, when different from the vicinity of his principal
place of employment, may be treated as his tax home if the
taxpayer's employment is "temporary" rather than "indefinite".
Peurifoy v. Commissioner, 358 U.S. 59, 60 (1958).
It is axiomatic that, to be entitled to a deduction under
section 162(a)(2), a taxpayer must have a tax home from which to
be away. A taxpayer without a tax home is deemed to have
"carried his home on his back" and is not entitled to the
deduction because he was not "away from home". Hicks v.
Commissioner, 47 T.C. 71, 73 (1966).
A primary consideration in determining whether a taxpayer
has a tax home is whether or not the taxpayer incurs substantial,
continuous, and duplicative living expenses. The duplication of
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Last modified: May 25, 2011