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The purpose of the deduction for expenses incurred away from
home is to alleviate the burden on the taxpayer whose business
needs require him or her to maintain two homes and therefore
incur duplicate living expenses. Kroll v. Commissioner, 49 T.C.
557, 562 (1968). The duplicate costs are not deductible where
the taxpayer maintains two homes for personal reasons. Sec. 262;
Commissioner v. Flowers, supra at 474.
A taxpayer may deduct the expenses he or she incurred while
away from home. Sec. 162(a)(2). The word “home” for purposes of
section 162(a)(2) has a special meaning. It generally refers to
the area of a taxpayer’s principal place of employment, not the
taxpayer’s personal residence. Daly v. Commissioner, 72 T.C.
190, 195 (1979), affd. 662 F.2d 253 (4th Cir. 1981); Kroll v.
Commissioner, supra at 561-562.
There is an exception to the general rule that a taxpayer’s
tax home is his or her principal place of employment. Peurifoy
v. Commissioner, 358 U.S. 59, 60 (1958). The taxpayer’s tax home
may be the taxpayer’s personal residence if the taxpayer’s
employment away from home is temporary. Id.; Mitchell v.
Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1999-283. On the other hand, the
exception does not apply and the taxpayer’s tax home remains the
principal place of employment if the employment away from home is
indefinite. Kroll v. Commissioner, supra at 562.
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Last modified: November 10, 2007