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

35.8 Tax Information for Reservists

Transportation costs to reservist meetings generally are not deductible. A possible exception is the cost of traveling from your regular job location to a meeting held on a regular workday or traveling from home to a meeting outside the metropolitan area where you live and normally work. The cost would be deductible, subject to the 2% adjusted gross income (AGI) floor for miscellaneous itemized deductions (19.1).

If you travel overnight more than 100 miles away from your tax home (20.6) to a meeting or training camp, you may claim an above-the-line deduction (12.2) for transportation, lodging, and meals (subject to the 50% reduction for meals) attributable to those trips; see the Filing Tip in this section.

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Filing Tip

Overnight Travel to National Guard and Reserve Meetings

National Guard and Reserve members who travel over 100 miles and stay overnight to attend Guard or Reserve meetings may claim an above-the-line deduction from gross income for their meals, lodging, and incidental expenses that do not exceed the federal per diem rate, plus the standard mileage rate for driving costs and parking fees and tolls. The expenses are reported on Form 2106 and the amount attributable to the over-100-mile-away trips is entered on Line 24 of Form 1040 as an above-the-line deduction from gross income (12.2). Other travel costs from ...