Opinion ID: 3133038
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Meals and Travel Expenses

Text: James’s business expense deductions fare no better. The Internal Revenue Code allows employees—those who are not self-employed—to take limited deductions for unreimbursed business expenses, such as transportation between jobs and meals. James argues that many of his clients paid these expenses with money that was not reimbursed 4 and that he prepared their returns to take proper deductions. But the possible existence of some reimbursable expenses does not override the illegal deductions he took. For example, Jallah Buku’s tax return claims $10,936 in unreimbursed business expenses, including thousands claimed for driving and meals; he testified that he had not spent that amount of money and did not even know it was on his return. Supp. App. 296:5–11. A reasonable juror could have concluded that James, who prepared the return, made up a large number to claim a large refund, and thus his argument that he only claimed allowable business expenses must fail.