Get Uncle Sam to help pay for your trip!

Here’s how:

Step 1: Keep your receipts.

• Keep your receipts for airfare, hotel, car rental, parking, taxi, and any meals you purchase during your trip.
• If you drive your car to NOTOCON, keep a written log of your starting mileage (when you leave home) and ending mileage (when you get back). Also keep your receipts for gas.

Step 2: Get a letter from your local body.

• The letter should say that you attended the National O.T.O. Convention in Seattle, Washington on August 7-9, 2009 as a representative of your local body.

Step 3: Deduct the cost of your trip on your 2009 tax return.

• You can deduct your travel expenses as a Charitable Contribution on Schedule A.
• If you drove your own car to NOTOCON you can also deduct 14 cents a mile for the trip. Or, you can deduct the cost of the gas, whichever works out better. But you can’t deduct both mileage and gas.
• Note: you cannot deduct your NOTOCON registration fee, nor the cost of items that you purchase from the vendors.
• If you add some extra vacation time before or after the conference dates, consult with a qualified tax advisor to determine how to take the deduction.

All of the above also applies if you are traveling to any other regional O.T.O. event such as Kaaba, Initiator Training, etc.

Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.