Key takeaways
- Client meals and meals while traveling away from home overnight are generally 50% deductible, including tax and tip, per IRS Publication 463.
- From January 1, 2026, meals from an employer-operated eating facility and meals provided for the employer’s convenience are generally not deductible at all, with narrow exceptions such as restaurants feeding their own staff.
- Entertainment, such as event tickets or golf, has not been deductible since 2018. Food at an event is 50% deductible only if it’s billed separately.
- For meal receipts, record the amount, date, place, business purpose and who attended. Receipts are required for meals of $75 or more.
What is the meal expense deduction?
When you buy food or drinks for business, the tax code lets you deduct part of the cost. The default is 50%. But some meals are 100% deductible and others get nothing, depending on who ate, where and why. This matters most to freelancers and business owners, who claim the deduction themselves. If you’re an employee reimbursed under your employer’s plan, the employer applies these rules, not you.
Every deductible meal must pass two basic tests. It can’t be lavish or extravagant for the situation. And you, or an employee of your business, must be there. For meals with other people, they should be current or likely clients, customers, suppliers, partners or advisers, and the meal should have a real business purpose.
Snap meal receipts and note the business purpose on the spot with the Manage Receipt app.
Deduction percentage by meal type
| Meal type | Example | Deductible |
|---|---|---|
| Client or prospect meal | Lunch with a client to plan a project | 50% |
| Meals while traveling overnight | Dinner alone at your hotel on a business trip | 50% |
| Workers under DOT hours-of-service rules | Long-haul truck driver on the road | 80% |
| Food at an event, billed separately | Dinner bought at a ballgame on its own bill | 50% |
| Office coffee and snacks (no company cafeteria) | Break room coffee, a fruit bowl | 50% |
| Party or picnic for all employees | Holiday party, summer barbecue | 100% |
| Meals sold to customers or reported as employee pay | Food a cafe sells; a meal included in an employee’s wages | 100% |
| Employer cafeteria or meals for the employer’s convenience (from 2026) | Free on-site lunches, meals for staff who must stay on the premises | 0% |
| Entertainment | Game tickets, golf, concerts | 0% |
| Your own everyday lunch | Lunch near your office on a normal workday | 0% |
A rule written into the 2017 tax law took effect on January 1, 2026. Businesses can no longer deduct the cost of running an employer-operated eating facility or of meals provided to employees for the employer’s convenience. The 2025 tax law kept that rule but carved out narrow exceptions, including restaurants feeding their own staff and certain fishing vessels and fish-processing facilities. Client meals and travel meals are unchanged at 50%, and ordinary break-room snacks not tied to an eating facility generally stay at 50%. Ask a tax professional if your business provides staff meals.
What to write on the receipt
A restaurant receipt shows the amount, date and place. The IRS also wants to know why you ate and who was there. Add these details on the receipt or in a note the same day:
- The total, including tax and tip (the tip is part of the meal and gets the same percentage)
- The date and the restaurant’s name and location
- Names of everyone who attended and their business relationship to you
- The business purpose, in a few concrete words
A good note is short: “Lunch with Maria Lopez (client, Lopez Realty). Reviewed spring listing photos.” Under IRS rules, you need the actual receipt for meals of $75 or more. Below that, a written record with the same details is enough, though keeping the receipt is still the safest habit. See substantiation for the full record rules.
Meals vs entertainment
Since 2018, entertainment hasn’t been deductible, even when you talk business the whole time. Tickets, golf, concerts and club dues are all 0%. Meals are still deductible, so the line between the two matters.
Taking a client to dinner is a meal: 50%. Taking that client to a ballgame afterward is entertainment: 0%. When food is served at the event itself, you can deduct 50% of it only if the food is bought separately or shown as its own amount on the bill.
You buy suite tickets for a client night. The invoice shows $900 for tickets and $300 for food and drinks.
- Tickets: entertainment, $0 deductible.
- Food and drinks: $300 × 50% = $150 deductible.
If the venue had billed a single $1,200 package with no food amount, none of it would be deductible. Ask for a split invoice.
For a wider view of how meals fit next to travel and client hospitality, see travel and entertainment expenses.
Common mistakes
- Deducting client meals at 100%. The temporary 100% deduction for restaurant meals ended after 2022. Most business meals are back to 50%.
- Claiming your own local lunches. A solo meal near home or your office is personal, even on a busy workday.
- Leaving out names and purpose. A receipt alone doesn’t show the business reason, and that’s what auditors question first.
- Treating the tip as a separate 100% item. The tip is part of the meal and gets the same 50% limit.
- Still deducting free on-site staff lunches. From 2026, most of these are 0%.
- Double-counting per diem. If you deduct the federal M&IE rate from the per diem tables for a travel day, don’t also deduct that day’s meal receipts.
Add the who and why at the table
Scan the restaurant receipt before you leave and add a note with who attended and what you discussed, while it’s fresh. Manage Receipt’s AI tax report groups meals into their own deductible category, so your accountant sees the 50% items separately instead of digging through a year of lunches.
Explore AI Tax ReportsFrequently asked questions
Are business meals 50% deductible?
Yes, most are. Meals with clients, prospects or other business contacts and meals while traveling away from home overnight are generally 50% deductible, including tax and tip. Some meals get 100%, such as a holiday party for all staff, and some get 0%, such as entertainment and, from 2026, most employer cafeteria meals.
Can I deduct meals while traveling alone?
Yes. When business keeps you away from your tax home overnight, your own meals are 50% deductible even if you eat alone. You can track actual costs or use the federal M&IE per diem rate instead. Meals on a same-day trip that doesn’t require sleep or rest aren’t deductible.
Are office snacks deductible in 2026?
Generally yes, at 50%, if they are casual break-room snacks and coffee not tied to an employer-operated eating facility. What changed in 2026 is that meals from a company cafeteria, and meals provided to employees for the employer’s convenience, are generally no longer deductible. Check with a tax professional if you run a staff kitchen.
Do I need a receipt for every business meal?
Not for every one. The IRS requires a receipt for meals of $75 or more. For smaller meals, a written record of the amount, date, place, attendees and business purpose is enough. In practice, scanning every receipt is easier than keeping a separate log, and it holds up better if you’re audited.