Laundry and dry cleaning while traveling belongs on Line 24a, travel.
Why line 24a
Laundry and the cleaning and pressing of clothes while you are away from home overnight is a travel expense on line 24a, deductible in full rather than at 50 percent. It is deductible because the trip caused it, which is also why the same bill at home is not. The point catches people who claim a meals and incidental per diem and assume laundry is inside it: incidental expenses are tips to porters and hotel staff, and laundry is specifically not one of them, so it is claimed separately on actual cost.
Stop looking up lines one at a time. ClaryBook totals your year into an IRS Schedule C worksheet in form order, Part I and Part II line by line, so laundry and dry cleaning while traveling lands on Line 24a without you sorting it.
Start for freeWhat laundry and dry cleaning while traveling is confused with
- not deductible, not deductible
- Dry cleaning your ordinary work clothes at home is personal grooming and upkeep; the same service on a trip away from home overnight is travel.
- Line 24b, deductible meals
- Laundry on a trip is deductible in full on line 24a and is not caught by the 50 percent limit that applies to the meals on line 24b.
- Line 22, supplies
- Cleaning uniforms or protective clothing used in the work, rather than clothes you wore on a trip, is a supplies or other business cost, not travel.
Examples that belong on line 24a
- $28 of hotel laundry on a five-night client engagement
- $16 at a laundromat during a two-week out-of-state contract
- $42 to press suits before a pitch on an overnight trip
- $9 of in-room laundry powder and machine charges on a trip
- $35 of dry cleaning on a nine-day trade show stint
What does not belong here
- Dry cleaning at home between trips.
- Laundry on a holiday.
- A new shirt bought because the old one was stained, which is clothing and not deductible.
- Laundry claimed on top of a per diem you treated as covering it.
The limit that applies
Deductible in full, not subject to the 50 percent meal limit, and not covered by the federal meals and incidental expenses per diem.
What to keep
Keep the hotel folio line or the laundromat receipt with the trip dates. The expense is small, so what makes it survive is that it sits inside a trip you can already document.
Other expenses on line 24a
| Expense | Line |
|---|---|
| a flight to a client site | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| a hotel on a business trip | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| a per-diem claim for lodging | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| a rental car on a business trip | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| a trip that mixed business and holiday | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| airport parking | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| an Airbnb for a work trip | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| baggage fees | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| international business travel | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| train and Amtrak fares | Schedule C, Line 24a |
| Uber and Lyft rides on a business trip | Schedule C, Line 24a |
Related lookups
- Is a car payment deductible on Schedule C?
- Where does a client lunch go on Schedule C?
- Where do job materials go on Schedule C?
Sources
This page explains how Schedule C lines work. It is general information, not tax advice for your situation. If an expense is large or the answer turns on a fact about your business, confirm it with your tax preparer.
Looking for a different expense? The full Schedule C line lookup has every line from 8 to 27 with the expenses that belong on each, and Schedule C expense categories walks the whole form in order.
Stop looking up lines one at a time. ClaryBook totals your year into an IRS Schedule C worksheet in form order, Part I and Part II line by line, so laundry and dry cleaning while traveling lands on Line 24a without you sorting it.
Start for free