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The usual tax relief for business and travel expenses is in the form of a tax deduction rather than a tax credit. To be eligible for a tax deduction for business-related travel, the IRS requires that you must be away from your “tax home” for a longer period than a regular work day, and you must require sleep or rest before returning. Note that your tax home isn’t where you live; it’s your primary work location. And the IRS is clear that “the rest requirement is not satisfied by merely napping in your car,” so a hotel stay might be required. You can get a tax deduction for work-related hotel stays, meals, driving and operating your own vehicle, tolls and parking, rental vehicles, taxis, planes, trains and any other kind of transportation you may need. You can claim the actual driving costs of your trip through receipts or a standard mileage rate set by the IRS.

Transportation expenses are slightly different from travel expenses. You can get a tax deduction for transportation expenses when you are not traveling away from your tax home. For example, if your job requires you to drive around the city where you work during the work day, it would be a transportation expense.

No matter whether you claim your expenses as a travel expense or a transportation expense, the expenses have to occur while you are on official business. IRS Publication 463, Chapter 4 specifically states that “You cannot deduct the costs of…driving a car between your home and your main or regular place of work.” Getting to work is considered a “commuting expense,” and there is no tax deduction or tax credit for any commute, no matter how far you live from work.

Keep in mind that even if you have legitimate travel and transportation expenses, you need to keep all receipts, invoices, and other records to submit when you file your taxes. That said, you may be able to itemize mileage you drove on a 1040 Schedule A for certain expenses like moving, charitable work, or transportation to a medical facility in some cases. Other deductible driving expenses include driving from one job to another job, driving from a home-based workplace to conduct business and driving around to look for a job.