Hi,

If my spouse came to US first time (on H4 visa), can I claim her travel expenses (flight, etc.) during my tax return? My tax consultant says "you cannot claim that, its personal expenses" and one of my friend's tax consultant asked him all questions about his spouse's flight expense, taxi expense, etc. and said "as it is first time travel, you can claim these expenses".

Can someone please tell me whether I can claim this travel expenses during my tax filing?

You can absolutely NOT claim these expenses, these travel expenses are considered personal expenses and hence not deductible on your personal tax return.

A taxpayer can only deduct travel expenses on their personal tax return if these expenses are incurred in connection to an income activity or part of a business.

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