J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return

20.12 Business-Vacation Trips Outside the United States

On a business trip abroad, you may deduct your travel expenses (the 50% limit applies for meals), even though you take time out to vacation, provided you can prove: (1) the primary purpose of the trip was business and (2) you did not have control over the assignment of the trip.

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Caution

Vacation Areas

If the IRS determines that you were primarily on vacation, it will disallow all travel costs except for costs directly related to your business in the area such as registration fees at a foreign business convention (20.15).

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Fixing the date of the trip does not mean that you had control over the assignment. IRS regulations assume that when you travel for your company under a reimbursement or allowance arrangement, you do not control the trip arrangements, provided also that you are not: (1) a managing executive of the company; (2) related to your employer (20.4); or (3) have more than a 10% stock interest in the company. You are considered a managing executive if you are authorized without effective veto procedures to decide on the necessity of the trip. You are related to your employer if the employer is your spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, or grandchild.

Rule for managing executives and self-employed persons.

If you are a managing executive, self-employed, related ...