If you’re not sure you can afford a traditional vacation, and the idea of a “staycation” (staying close to home or at home) bores you, consider the “bizcation,” a combination of work and leisure that allows you to relax in an environment nice while pursuing some legitimate business goals, though not to the point of stress.
When you plan your business with the IRS guidelines on what counts as a tax-deductible business trip in mind, you may be able to deduct all or most of your transportation, room and board expenses for your trip as business expenses, while he spends most of his time away from home as leisure.
According to IRS Taxpayer Publication #463, a crucial rule in what counts as a deductible is this: “Any day you are required to be at a particular location for a specific business purpose counts as a business day. Count it as a business day even if you spend most of the day in non-business activities.”
Consequently, a valid bizcation plan includes something that happens Monday through Friday and could plausibly happen only at the vacation spot. Weekends before and after can often be justifiably added to allow you to recover from jet lag and take advantage of lower airfares or lodging specials.
(Please note that you should consult with your own tax advisor to ensure that your situation meets all relevant guidelines for deductible business travel.)
Bizcation Furnace Plans
The following four concepts illustrate ways to show a compelling business reason to travel and stay in a great place for a week or two.
1. Wait in the conference. Events with educational and/or business networking components should qualify you for the tax deduction. The topic of the conference does not have to be central to your line of business, just relevant in some way.
However, for cross-eyed purposes, this option is a bit tricky. Conferences tend to cram as many meetings as possible into a relatively small number of days, like three or four. You want to be able to attend a few scattered sessions Monday through Friday without spending a fortune on conference fee, and you want plenty of time for sightseeing, golfing, lazing on the beach, or whatever else relaxes you.
2. Arrange an extended consultation. Many veteran consultants offer special deals for extended consultations in their own territory, which could be Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix, or in my case, every winter, Maui. As with option #1, you want to spread out your meeting schedule as many days as possible, rather than cramming the entire consultation into just one and a half days.
My own bizcation schedule for clients who meet me on Maui is three hours on Mondays and one hour a day Tuesday through Friday, as well as one hour before and one hour after their island visit. Feel free to suggest this plan to your favorite guru who lives somewhere you’d like to hang out.
3. Plan a work retreat. This can be solo or involve the best members of your team. Either way, a retreat provides an opportunity to engage in strategic planning or sustained project work away from the distractions of the office.
Writers, musicians, and creative entrepreneurs have made and justified solo withdrawals to tax authorities for centuries. The corporate retreat also has a long and respectable history. To stick with the idea of bizcation, just make sure you don’t become a taskmaster in regards to yourself or others.
4. Meetings with clients. Finally, can you find a group of professional colleagues or people on your client list in a place you want to visit? If so, plan a series of meetings with them that span the period of your visit. These can be individual meetings or small group meetings.
An American consultant I know who visited Australia as a tourist invited newsletter subscribers to a roundtable lunch in Sydney during her visit. From what she wrote about the post session, it was really productive for her to keep abreast of business conditions around the world and build closer relationships with her followers. She may be able to expand and adapt this idea to fit the requirements of a tax-deductible squint.
According to 2010 research by Homewood Suites, combining business travel with pleasure is gaining popularity. Of the 540 travelers surveyed who took three or more trips of four days or more per year, two-thirds sometimes or often combined business and pleasure travel. That number was up 16 percent from 10 years earlier.
Ready to join the trend?
