Touring, Vehicle & Meals: What’s Deductible?
The road is full of write-offs you’re already paying for — if you know which ones count and how much of each.
Travel for business — shows, sessions, industry events away from home — is generally deductible. Business meals are usually deductible at 50%. And you deduct vehicle use one of two ways: the standard mileage rate, or your actual car costs.
Travel
When you travel away from your tax home overnight for the business, the ordinary costs come with it: transportation, lodging, and baggage. The trip has to be primarily for business. Tacking a couple of personal days onto a real business trip doesn’t kill the business portion, but you can’t deduct the personal part — and a trip that’s mostly vacation with a little “networking” won’t fly.
Meals
Business meals — a working meal with a collaborator, meals while traveling for the business — are generally 50% deductible. You need to note the business purpose and who was there. Meals that are purely personal, or lavish and extravagant, don’t count.
Your vehicle: pick one method
- Standard mileage rate — multiply your business miles by the IRS per-mile rate (it’s updated every year). Simple, and it just needs a mileage log.
- Actual expenses — add up gas, insurance, repairs, and depreciation, then deduct the business-use percentage.
Either way, only the business share counts — and your commute to a regular workspace generally doesn’t. The one thing both methods absolutely require is a mileage log: dates, miles, and the business reason for each trip.
This is general education, not tax advice — Done Deal Digital isn’t a CPA firm. Your exact situation depends on your income, your state, and how you keep your records. For a definite answer on your own return, work it out with a qualified CPA.
That’s the short version
Turn the road into real deductions
The Write It Off guide walks through touring and travel write-offs step by step — the mileage-vs-actual math for artists, the meal rules, and the simple logs that make every road deduction survive a second look.
Get the Guide — $39 →Or get all seven tax guides in one — The Complete Tax & Money Guide, $99 →