Updated November 8, 2026. Quick answer: For a locum tenens physician working as an independent contractor, travel is the central question. Travel and lodging are deductible only while you are away from your tax home, and an assignment that is realistically expected to last more than a year makes that location your tax home. Without any regular or main place of business, you may have no tax home at all, and then travel expenses are not deductible.
The deductions this work usually has to sort out
This page reads the IRS documents linked under Sources, as retrieved on November 8, 2026. The IRS publications and instructions cited here are the 2025 editions, written for returns filed for 2025; check the current edition before relying on a figure.
Every deduction below has to pass one test first. Publication 334 puts it this way: “To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary.” “An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your field of business.” “A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your business.” And where a cost is mixed: “If you have an expense that is partly for business and partly personal, separate the personal part from the business part.”
This table is the usual set for locum work. The line shows where the Schedule C instructions place that kind of cost; whether a particular purchase qualifies is the ordinary-and-necessary question above.
| Cost | Schedule C line | What to keep | Where it is explained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airfare, rental car, lodging on assignment | Line 24a | Receipts; assignment dates and location | Schedule C lines 24a and 24b |
| Meals while away | Line 24b | Receipts, or per diem records | per diem for self-employed meals |
| Mileage and parking away from home | Lines 9 and 24a | Mileage log; receipts | mileage log requirements |
| Malpractice and tail coverage | Line 15 | Policy declarations | Schedule C lines 14 and 15 |
| Medical license and DEA registration fees | Line 23 | Renewal notices | Schedule C line 23 |
| Credentialing and continuing education | Part V | Receipts, dates | Schedule C lines 17 to 19 |
| Agency, accountant, attorney fees | Line 17 | Invoices | Schedule C lines 17 to 19 |
| Phone, laptop, medical references | Lines 18, 22 or 13 | Receipts | Schedule C lines 20 to 22 |
Independent contractor first
A locum assignment may be paid as 1099 contractor income or as W-2 wages, and the deductions here apply to the first. Publication 334 says: “People such as doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, accountants, contractors, subcontractors, public stenographers, or auctioneers who are in an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the general public are generally independent contractors.” It adds “However, whether they are independent contractors or employees depends on the facts in each case.” The pay statement you receive is only part of the answer.
The tax home test
Publication 463 defines when you are traveling for tax purposes. First, “Your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home (defined later) substantially longer than an ordinary day’s work, and” second, “You need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away from home.” If you have no regular place of business, the publication uses three factors: “You perform part of your business in the area of your main home and use that home for lodging while doing business in the area.” “You have living expenses at your main home that you duplicate because your business requires you to be away from that home.” “You haven’t abandoned the area in which both your historical place of lodging and your claimed main home are located, you have a member or members of your family living at your main home, or you often use that home for lodging.” The result: “If you satisfy all three factors, your tax home is the home where you regularly live.” and “If you satisfy only one factor, you are an itinerant; your tax home is wherever you work and you can’t deduct travel expenses.” This page’s reading of the factors: a locum who keeps a home, pays costs there that continue during assignments, and returns to it between them fits the first side of that line, while one who moves from rental to rental with no base fits the second. Which describes you is a facts-and-circumstances call.
The one-year line
“Generally, a temporary assignment in a single location is one that is realistically expected to last (and does in fact last) for 1 year or less.” “An assignment or job in a single location is considered indefinite if it is realistically expected to last for more than 1 year, whether or not it actually lasts for more than 1 year.” The test looks at what you realistically expected, so if a placement could be extended, a note in your records at the start of the contract shows what you expected. The Schedule C instructions for line 24a state the same boundary: “You can’t deduct expenses paid or incurred in connection with employment away from home if that period of employment exceeds 1 year.”
Meals while away
“In most cases, you can deduct only 50% of your meal expenses.” You can use actual cost or a standard allowance; the self-employed version of the per-diem method is on per diem for self-employed meals and the rate tables are on the 2026 high-low per diem page.
The big items
| Big item | How it comes up for this work | Live pages |
|---|---|---|
| Home office | A home office is a separate question from the tax home; see the home office pages. | home office records for Form 8829; Schedule C line 30 |
| Vehicle | Local mileage at the assignment city is Line 9 mileage; travel from home to the assignment is travel under Line 24a. | mileage log requirements; Schedule C lines 8 and 9 |
| Health insurance | “Do not include on line 14 any contributions you made on your behalf as a self-employed person to an accident and health plan.” The same instructions point you to Schedule 1: “you may be able to deduct on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 17, the amount you paid for health insurance on behalf of yourself, your spouse, and dependents, even if you do not itemize your deductions.” | Schedule 1 line 17 |
| Retirement plan for yourself | “If you are a sole proprietor, you can deduct contributions you make to the plan for yourself on line 16 of Schedule 1 (Form 1040).” Plan contributions for employees go on Schedule C line 19, which is why the retirement row sits outside the Schedule C table. | Schedule 1 lines 15 and 16; SEP-IRA contributions |
| Qualified business income | Whether a physician’s practice income qualifies at higher incomes depends on the current thresholds; see the live page. | QBI deduction thresholds for 2026 |
Records
For a locum, the records that matter most are the ones about the assignment itself: contract, dates, location, and your expected duration. They are what prove which place was your tax home.
For the travel receipts, SparkReceipt’s home page says you can snap a receipt at the counter in the phone app; Dext’s US home page says you can send receipts, invoices and statements by mobile, email, WhatsApp or desktop. These are the vendors’ statements; this page has not used either product. A folder of photographed receipts and a spreadsheet meet the same IRS test, which is whether the record exists and was made close to the time.
Common mistakes
- Deducting lodging at an assignment that was realistically expected to last more than a year from the start.
- Treating a W-2 locum assignment as 1099 income, or the reverse; the deductions in this guide are for contractor income.
- Keeping no record of why the home counted as your tax home.
Related: tax deductions by profession, Schedule C business code for doctors and dentists, and Schedule C lines 24a and 24b.
Sources
- IRS Publication 334 (2025), Tax Guide for Small Business (For Individuals Who Use Schedule C)
- IRS Publication 463 (2025), Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040) (2025)
Read from the IRS documents linked above on November 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.