"Short Business Travel" Tax Questions

[Mike C.]

I do my own rehab, maintenance and management. One of my properties is about 160 miles from my hometown and that can be a drive of 3 to 5 hours, depending on traffic. Recently I did what I used to call a day trip to that property and I'm now curious if it qualifies as "business travel" for tax purposes per the IRS "Topic No. 511 Business Travel Expenses":

"You're traveling away from home if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home for a period substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and you need to get sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away."

I file taxes as a Real Estate Professional and so keep a work log to document my active participation.

Per my log that day I was "on the clock" at 0515 when I arrived at my latest rehab project, about 20 minutes from home. Some of my tools were there and after assembling and loading the tools and materials needed for the day, departed the rehab about 0545, arriving at the distant property about 0900. Worked there and drove to store for needed items about midday, then departed distant property about 1730 bound for the rehab property. I drove in very heavy stop-n-go traffic for a few hours until very sleepy, and about 2000 stopped at rest area and caught a 90-minute nap in the reclined seat. Then resumed driving and arrived at the rehab just before 2330, where I offloaded the tools in about 5 minutes, logged "off the clock" at 2230, then drove home.

So, to my mind this was 16.75 hours of "on the clock" working (including driving), and 90 minutes of sleeping. But in my in my work log this was booked as 14.75 hours of work. Then another entry on the next line for 90 minutes of sleep (not counting as "work" toward my 750 hours, but just in case...). Then on the next line, two hours of work.

Meals were drive-through fast food eaten on the fly (Yuk! Right?).

The IRS "Topic 511" criteria:

o  My duties required it.

o  I was away from the general area of my work home, where I have three properties, or not?

o  16.75 hours of work. I was definitely away for "a period substantially longer than an ordinary day's work"--at my age it takes a day or more of light duty to recover from a day that long. If the requirement to qualify to file as REP is 750 hours per year, an ordinary day's work, by the IRS own definition, is 3 hours, given a 250-day work year (Ha! Work Years that short would qualify as a vacation the way I've worked most of my life.).

o  And I'm not the marathon driver I was 40 years go. I don’t drive tired--its too dangerous! So, I did "need to get sleep or rest to meet the demands of [my] work while away."

Questions:

o  Would you go ahead and deduct the mileage and take the "Standard Meals Allowance" for the destination zip code? Or not?

o  Does it matter if I start from home on a trip like that, or if I am driving from investment property to investment property?

It seem almost incomprehensible to me that the IRS would not count that trip as business.