Travel expenses of state legislators

(ii) The Federal per diem with respect to those days for the taxpayer's state capital; and

(3) The taxpayer is deemed to be away from home in the pursuit of a trade or business on each legislative day.

(b) Legislative day. For purposes of section 162(h)(1) and this section, for any taxpayer who makes an election under section 162(h), a legislative day is any day on which the taxpayer is a state legislator and—

(1) The legislature is in session;

(2) The legislature is not in session for a period that is not longer than 4 consecutive days, without extension for Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays;

(3) The taxpayer's attendance at a meeting of a committee of the legislature is formally recorded; or

(4) The taxpayer's attendance at any session of the legislature that only a limited number of members are expected to attend (such as a pro forma session), on any day not described in paragraph (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section, is formally recorded.

(c) Fifty mile rule. Section 162(h) and this section do not apply to any taxpayer who is a state legislator and whose place of residence within the legislative district represented by the taxpayer is 50 or fewer miles from the capitol building of the state. For purposes of this paragraph (c), the distance between the taxpayer's place of residence within the legislative district represented by the taxpayer and the capitol building of the state is the shortest of the more commonly traveled routes between the two points.

(d) Definitions and special rules. The following definitions apply for purposes of section 162(h) and this section.

(1) State legislator. A taxpayer becomes a state legislator on the day the taxpayer is sworn into office and ceases to be a state legislator on the day following the day on which the taxpayer's term in office ends.

(2) Living expenses. Living expenses include lodging, meals, and incidental expenses. Incidental expenses has the same meaning as in 41 CFR 300-3.1.

(3) In session—(i) In general. For purposes of this section, the legislature of which a taxpayer is a member is in session on any day if, at any time during that day, the members of the legislature are expected to attend and participate as an assembled body of the legislature.

(ii) Examples. The following examples illustrate the rules of this paragraph (d)(3):

Example 1.

B is a member of the legislature of State X. On Day 1, the State X legislature is convened and the members of the legislature are expected to attend and participate. On Day 1, the State X legislature is in session within the meaning of paragraph (d)(3)(i) of this section. B does not attend the session of the State X legislature on Day 1. However, Day 1 is a legislative day for B for purposes of section 162(h)(2)(A) and paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

Example 2.

C, D, and E are members of the legislature of State X. On Day 2, the State X legislature is convened for a limited session in which not all members of the legislature are expected to attend and participate. Thus, on Day 2 the legislature is not in session within the meaning of paragraph (d)(3)(i) of this section, and Day 2 is not a legislative day under paragraph (b)(1) of this section. In addition, Day 2 is not a day described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. C and D are the only members who are called to, and do, attend the limited session on Day 2, and their attendance at the session is formally recorded. E is not called and does not attend. Therefore, Day 2 is a legislative day as to C and D under section 162(h)(2)(B) and paragraph (b)(4) of this section. Day 2 is not a legislative day as to E.

(4) Committee of the legislature. A committee of the legislature is any group that includes one or more legislators and that is charged with conducting business of the legislature. Committees of the legislature include, but are not limited to, committees to which the legislature refers bills for consideration, committees that the legislature has authorized to conduct inquiries into matters of public concern, and committees charged with the internal administration of the legislature. For purposes of this section, groups that are not considered committees of the legislature include, but are not limited to, groups that promote particular issues, raise campaign funds, or are caucuses of members of a political party.

(5) Federal per diem. The Federal per diem for any city and day is the maximum amount allowable to employees of the executive branch of the Federal government for living expenses while away from home in pursuit of a trade or business in that city on that day. See 5 U.S.C. 5702 and the regulations under that section.

(e) Election—(1) Time for making election. A taxpayer's election under section 162(h) must be made for each taxable year for which the election is to be in effect and must be made no later than the due date (including extensions) of the taxpayer's Federal income tax return for the taxable year.

(2) Manner of making election. A taxpayer makes an election under section 162(h) by attaching a statement to the taxpayer's income tax return for the taxable year for which the election is made. The statement must include—

(i) The taxpayer's name, address, and taxpayer identification number;

(ii) A statement that the taxpayer is making an election under section 162(h); and

(iii) Information establishing that the taxpayer is a state legislator entitled to make the election, for example, a statement identifying the taxpayer's state and legislative district and representing that the taxpayer's place of residence in the legislative district is not 50 or fewer miles from the state capitol building.

(3) Revocation of election. An election under section 162(h) may be revoked only with the consent of the Commissioner. An application for consent to revoke an election must be signed by the taxpayer and filed with the submission processing center with which the election was filed, and must include—

(i) The taxpayer's name, address, and taxpayer identification number;

(ii) A statement that the taxpayer is revoking an election under section 162(h) for a specified year; and

(iii) A statement explaining why the taxpayer seeks to revoke the election.

(f) Effect of election on otherwise deductible expenses for travel away from home—(1) Legislative days—(i) Living expenses. For any legislative day for which an election under section 162(h) and this section is in effect, the amount of an electing taxpayer's living expenses while away from home is the greater of the amount of the living expenses—

(A) Specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section in connection with the trade or business of being a legislator; or

(B) Otherwise allowable under section 162(a)(2) in the pursuit of any trade or business of the taxpayer.

(ii) Other expenses. For any legislative day for which an election under section 162(h) and this section is in effect, the amount of an electing taxpayer's expenses (other than living expenses) for travel away from home is the sum of the substantiated expenses, such as expenses for travel fares, telephone calls, and local transportation, that are otherwise deductible under section 162(a)(2) in the pursuit of any trade or business of the taxpayer.

(2) Non-legislative days. For any day that is not a legislative day, the amount of an electing taxpayer's expenses (including amounts for living expenses) for travel away from home is the sum of the substantiated expenses that are otherwise deductible under section 162(a)(2) in the pursuit of any trade or business of the taxpayer.

(g) Cross references. See § 1.62-1T(e)(4) for rules regarding allocation of unreimbursed expenses of state legislators and section 274(n) for limitations on the amount allowable as a deduction for expenses for or allocable to meals.

(h) Effective/applicability date. This section applies to expenses paid or incurred, or deemed expended under section 162(h), in taxable years beginning after April 8, 2010.