If you're interested in software that helps you crunch all the numbers, you might try this. www.greencompany.com/GTT_TradeLog.htm
Publication 587 should give you all you need to make the determination of home office expenses. The easiest way to take rent/mortgage interest is to use the % of Square Feet that your office takes up. (The caveat is that the office must be used for business only) There are some good examples in the pub. OB, I think you started with forum with a question of a laptop purchase. I think this is 5 year property (deductible over 5 years) you can look at the MACRS table to check. But if you are placing a lot of assets in use this year you may want to look at Section 179 which lets you take about 19000 in the form of a one time write off. I would also encourage you to look at the Medical Savings Account rules. This lets you write off about 60% of the premiums for health insurance and deduct from 1200-1700 in the form of medical savings account contributions. JK Lasser and Ernst and Young have great tax guides for about 15$. I would say Andersen's is pretty good as well, but they might not be around for next years update.
Here's one that my accountant told me about that I use now. Next time you take a vacation, keep all the hotel, car rental and plane tix receipts. Then go to the et board and take one of us out to a bar for some drinks. It's called "networking" or "business meetings". It's fully legal, and anything that you can use to connect it to the buisiness is legal. If you take me to epcott, and we talk about scalping on the "it's a small world ride," that epcott admission is free. Be creative. Just keep receipts and make sure your stories match. It's the same concept as when my father who is a doctor takes other doctors on expensive vacations and dinners to befriend them and get referrals. The vacation is then free for him. Something to think about.
I would look at page 6 of Pub 463. Im not sure where he is coming up with it being legal. http://www.irs.gov/businesses/display/0,,i1=2&genericId=20736,00.html
I'm not sure if I would use that recommendation (Networking) to substantiate a write off of a vacation. I'll give you one that is better and less likely to catch the wrath of the IRS. Go on a vacation, take a day or two to "investigate" a new location for your business. If it is in an area that has a lower cost of living, i.e. more to the bottom line if moved, then you have the basis for a deduction. Of course other factors are involved if you have a family which could be the determining factor in not making the switch in location. Another, look for a job in the vacation location. Good luck.
I am 100% positive that it is legal. That's what Bright people do. They have a bright location in every city. If you don't know someone somewhere, go to a shareholder meeting. Those are held almost every month and in every city.
P2, Read the pub I linked you up with. It is 100% completely illegal. If your trip is for business purposes only you can deduct your expenses. If your family goes with you, they do not get a deduction. It can not be spelled out an clearer by the irs that no business purpose equals no deduction. In fact the reason I referred you to page 6 is because it gives an identical example to your scenario, and no expenses are deductible. And if you are searching for a location for a new business the search costs are capitalized over 60 months, they are never expensed.
trdrmac, I'm assuming the person is currently in business. This violates the second requirement listed that the cost were incurred before the business begins. I agree if the business has not begun. If the business doesn't move to the new location how do you amortize the cost against revenue that was never generated? This is the matching convention of accounting. You work under a different set of rules if you are already in business. As far as writing off the entire families travel cost, etc., unless the children are officers or employees (lots of people do this), you would have a difficult time justifying the expenses.
Cracked, I agree with you if you have an existing business, I misread that part. The deduction is limited to actual business time spent searching for a new location. And the IRS is pretty clear on what is and is not deductible. It is not like AMT or something nebulous like that. My recollection is that if you are exploring a new business and do not start it you are SOL. The same as job search expenses for an unrelated field are not deductible. The old take a trip and write it off is a big red flag. But it doesn't matter what people do, I just try to share what little knowledge I have. The matching principle, you must have been an accounting major too. ??