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Five Ways to Deduct Daily Business Travel - Taking the sting out of rising gas prices

The cost of gas has soared to unprecedented heights in 2008. Are there any tax breaks to salvage from this difficult situation? Unfortunately, you cannot deduct the cost of traveling back and forth from work in your car, but business drivers may write off certain "commuting" expenses. Here are five common examples when you may qualify for tax write-offs.
Example 1: You are an independent contractor with your principal place of business in your home office. It is normal for you to visit clients or make other business-related trips. Since your home is your "tax home" for this purpose, you can deduct your business travel expenses.
Example 2: You often stop to meet with clients on your way to work in the morning and on the way home in the evenings. By doing so, you have converted part of your nondeductible commute into a deductible expense. You can deduct the cost attributable to traveling between your regular place of business and other business locations.
Example 3: Your business has several offices or branches. During the course of the day, you often drive from one site to the other. Once again, the cost of traveling between different business locations is deductible.
Example 4: You are negotiating an important business deal with a client outside of your metropolitan area. For several weeks, you drive back and forth each day without visiting your regular workplace. In this case, your daily commute is deductible.
Example 5: You personally supervise a long-term project at a distant business location. Rather than traveling back and forth each day, you stay near the client's office and come home most weekends. Assuming the job takes no more than a year, it qualifies as a "temporary assignment." Not only are your lodging and meal expenses deductible (within certain limits), but you can also write off the cost of your weekend trips home.
Note that the IRS has raised the standard mileage deduction rate for the second half of 2008 (see "Facts and Figures" below). This convenient method may be elected in lieu of tracking all your actual expenses.  
Proceed with caution: If you are using your own car, you must deduct any employee business expenses as miscellaneous itemized deductions. The annual total for the year, including your travel expenses, is deductible only to the extent it exceeds 2% of your AGI.

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