Return time to taxed /resident home

NedRN · May 22, 2013

The rule is that you cannot work over one year in one general area. For example, the Bay Area. Work in LA then SF then Fresno and you are fine. Rotate around the Bay where it might be possible to reside in one place (even if you don't) and commute to different assignment hospitals is not. Lots of rules are not very specific: the IRS says that you must return home "regularly".

dar115 · May 22, 2013

Thank you Ned. I just hear a lot of rumors that I have to go home for two weeks or a month to my taxed home. Great advice!

NedRN · May 22, 2013

Some agencies have such policies and it satisfies the IRS on the agency end. But it won't satisfy them if you get audited. That time home does not reset the clock. To be completely safe, you should not work more than one year out of two years in the same general area. That is 12 months out of 24, not calendar years.

whd13b · May 29, 2013

According to the IRS, you can work up to ONE year outside your taxable home base. Working 15 week assignments is a non-issue. Here is a link to the IRS website concerning this.

Publication 463 (2012), Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses

NedRN · May 29, 2013

Read it again. There is no limit to how long you can work away from your home base, I've never worked at my home base. The rule is actually that you cannot work in the same general area for more than one year without your tax home shifting (actually at the moment you agree to work over one year to be technically accurate). There are a number of other gotchas as well, but working away from home over one year is not one of them.

whd13b · May 29, 2013

Just re-read it again and I still infer that anything over one year in the same location becomes your new tax base and you can no longer claim the travel expenses.

Temporary assignment vs. indefinite assignment. If your assignment or job away from your main place of work is temporary, your tax home does not change. You are considered to be away from home for the whole period you are away from your main place of work. You can deduct your travel expenses if they otherwise qualify for deduction. Generally, a temporary assignment in a single location is one that is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less. However, if your assignment or job is indefinite, the location of the assignment or job becomes your new tax home and you cannot deduct your travel expenses while there. An assignment or job in a single location is considered indefinite if it is realistically expected to last for more than 1 year, whether or not it actually lasts for more than 1 year.

NedRN · May 29, 2013

That is what I said, but not what you said. You said working away from home for over one year, I said working in the same general area for over one year. You are pasting text that agrees with what I said, and I concur.