Quick tax question (write off living expenses in another city)

Do you have a work location in Zachary?

Sounds like an interesting situation. Hopefully, you are self-employed, and your use your home as your principle workplace. How do you travel back and forth, drive or fly? You'll have to provide more details about your work arrangements before a real conclusion will present itself. The cost of meals, lodging and incidentals shouldn't be an issue, but the transportation costs are not so cut and dried.

The transportation costs could be treated as commuting costs, and commuting costs to your primary workplace are not deductible. That is why a home office as a primary workplace would be beneficial.

Your circumstances are complicated. I believe the IRS would question whether many of your expenses are deductible. I believe that you could make a case that your activities in Texas are temporary assignments/projects, and that the travel costs are deductible as ordinary and necessary expenses of your business, and therefore, deductible. You are certainly not an itinerant worker. However, I believe the IRS would assert that your tax home is in San Antonio rather than Zachary. As such, they would claim the expenses are not deductible.

You definitely need to keep detailed records of your expenses and work activities to substantiate your claims for deductions. I would not rely on the Cohan rule, which allows one to estimate the amount of expenses when adequate records do not exist.

I would recommend going ahead and claiming everything, after all it is your decision ultimately. But I would also caution you that your chances of being selected for examination is greater than than most. That doesn't mean that getting selected for examination is likely. And what is life without a little excitement.