[dineshmittal97]

I am on L1-B visa and was sent to US by my Indian employer in Jun-2009 on a short assignment to Minnesota. This assignment kept extending by 3 or 4 months till Sep-2011 for different projects. In Oct-2011 I was transferred to Atlanta, GA on a new project by same employer.
My question is - can I claim business expenses on my 2011 tax return and include rent, electricity, internet expenses as unreimbursed business expenses while itemizing ?
I am thinking that since I am on L1-B visa on an assignment, my Tax Home is still in India and my assignments in USA are temporary ?
Please guide.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

No, you CANNOT claim daily living expenses, because the job HAS exceeded one year in length.

[AtlantaTaxExpert]

To expand on my earlier post, the fact that the work assignments were extended is irrelevant in the eyes of the IRS.

Once the job exceeds one year, you NO LONGER have the right to deduct daily living costs. Do NOT test the IRS on this; the claiming of daily living costs is an AUDIT FLAG for the IRS, so they look at the submissionof those costs carefully.