The phrase “business trip” may sound glamorous, but frequent fliers know that work travel is often less of a vacation and more of a long slog of laptop-lugging, hotel lobby-dwelling, yet-another-airport-cobb-salad eating drudgery.

But with a little advance planning, you can turn business travel into something a lot more fun: “bleisure.” (Yes, we know, it’s a ridiculous word.) Adding a day or two of leisure travel to a business trip not only gives you a chance to work in a little sight-seeing or exploring; it also lets you take advantage of the tax code to write off some expenses, like airfare.

“I travel frequently for work, and I like to add in a little extra time whenever possible,” says freelance journalist Rochelle. “I’m often going places I’d never select for a personal vacation, but I end up having a great time exploring those out-of-the-way spots anyway, like Minneapolis or Sacramento. Marketing manager Nicole agrees, saying “It’s nice to decompress and explore the city. Generally on work trips, I’m so busy that I don’t get to see anything.”

As with any business write-off, talk with your accountant first, but here are some bleisure basics to get you started.

Mostly Work, Some Play

To take any deduction, the mix of your trip must be “mostly” business, unless you’re going abroad. Then, the requirement is only 25%. The IRS measures time in days, not hours, and travel days to and from the destination count as business. Assuming you stick to this rule, your airfare is deductible (woohoo!).

Reasonable and Necessary

Any expense you write off must be “reasonable and necessary” to conducting business. So, if you decide to bring your spouse and five kids along, you can’t write off the minivan, as only a wee compact would be “reasonably necessary.” This also means there’s no booking the conference in Paris when there’s an identical one taking place next month in your backyard. Sigh.

Sleep on it

Outside of airfare, lodging is a big hit to the wallet. You might be able to claim accommodations as a business expense by sandwiching off-days between work days. A brilliant way to do this is to try to get meetings to fall on either side of a weekend.

When it comes down to it, traveling for work is a wonderful opportunity to see more of the world. Take advantage of being forced to get out by scheduling in time to see new things, or spending quality time with a friend or loved one – and maybe save a little on your taxes, while you’re at it.