It is summer and taxation is the last thing on your mind. For most of us, it is also vacation time. And this leads us right back to taxes.

Living in the North has certain advantages. For one, you may be able to deduct up to two trips under the generous Northern residents travel deduction rules. For those new to the North, here is a quick overview of this tax claim.

If you receive a travel benefit from your employer that is reported on Box 32 of your T4 slip, you may qualify to claim the lower of three amounts - your Box 32 benefit, your trip expenses or the controversial amount called the 'lowest return airfare available at the time of the trip.'

You can spend your long summer days debating what 'lowest return airfare available at the time of the trip' means and remain totally confused. So let's leave that for another day.

Let's pick on a simpler sub-topic, as if there is anything simple in taxes. What is a trip - one that qualifies for this travel deduction?

You already know this - if you receive a Box 32 travel benefit, you can deduct your trip to Kelowna, Florida or the Philippines. But we all don't drive great distances or fly off to a sunny destination. If you live in Yellowknife, can you deduct a weekend camping at the Prelude Lake Territorial Park 30 kilometres away? What about the weekend camping trip at the Long Lake Territorial Park, three kilometres from Yellowknife?

Likewise, your annual vacation may be a trip to your cabin located across the river, the bay or outside your community if you live in Grise Fiord, Tulita or other remote communities. Are these trips claimable?

According to the dictionary, a 'trip' suggests going and returning to a starting place. It does not suggest the duration, distance or means of travel. Therefore, your weekend camping trip or any travel out on the land is no different from a costly faraway trip.

This brings us to a plug and an upcoming trip of monumental proportion. Freedom Cycle, an event organized by two gutsy Yellowknifers, Lisa Prosser and Iona Mackenzie, involves five women and four men cycling 1,580 kilometres from Yellowknife to Edmonton in nine days, leaving on July 31, 2010. Their mission is to raise awareness about violence against women. This group has raised over $45,000 for the Alison McAteer House, a family violence shelter in Yellowknife.

The aggregate trip costs, to be reduced by cash or in-kind received from passing the hat around, will be borne by the riders. If the riders receive a Box 32 travel benefit from their employer, what can they claim for this trip?

The Canada Revenue Agency allows a fixed daily meals cost of $51 without receipts. Alternatively, the riders may wish to claim their unusually high food costs, with receipts, needed to fuel their daily 8,000 calories burn.

Claiming accommodation - a shared room for the women and another for the men - is potentially complicated. Each rider would claim their allocated cost and hopes the CRA won't ask for the receipt which would have been paid by one rider. Additional deductible cost includes the return flight for the rider and bicycle.

That said, the riders would rather avoid out-of-pocket costs for this ride and gladly forgo the tax deduction. You can assist the riders or the Alison McAteer House by contacting Lisa Prosser, lisa@freedomcycleyk.com or Iona Mackenzie, iona@freedomcycleyk.com or visit www.freedomcycleyk.com

When you pass an orderly pace line of cyclists on your drive to Edmonton this summer, you should know the CRA is a partner in this inspiring endeavour. The riders with a Box 32 benefit are allowed to claim eligible trip expenses and donors to the Alison McAteer House can claim a charitable donation.