The current rules (post-2022)
| Type of meal | Deductible % |
|---|---|
| Business meal with client, prospect, or collaborator | 50% |
| Working meal during business travel | 50% |
| Meal for employees (holiday party, team event) | 100% |
| Food made available to the general public (marketing event) | 100% |
| Meals sold to customers (restaurant owner's cost of goods) | 100% |
| "Meeting yourself for lunch" solo meal | 0% |
What counts as a "business meal"
A meal is deductible at 50% if:
- It's ordinary and necessary for your business
- It's not lavish under the circumstances
- You or an employee is present
- It's provided to a current or potential business contact
You don't have to close a deal during the meal. Cultivating a relationship counts.
What doesn't count
- Eating lunch alone on a normal workday. Not deductible. Even at your own office.
- Groceries. Personal. Even if you work from home.
- Meals with your spouse who doesn't work in the business. Not deductible unless they're an actual employee doing actual work.
- Lavish meals with no business purpose. IRS can disallow as excessive.
The 100% exceptions in detail
Employee events (Line 25, not 24b)
Holiday parties, team lunches, morale events. Must be for employees, not just yourself. If you're a solo business owner with no employees, this doesn't apply.
Food for the public
Hosting a free event, putting snacks out at an open house, sampling at a trade show. If the general public can eat it, it's 100%.
Meals sold to customers
If you run a catering, restaurant, or food business, the cost of food you sell is cost of goods sold — fully deductible as a direct cost, not a meal expense.
Documentation that survives audit
For every business meal over $75 (the IRS de minimis threshold), keep:
- Receipt (digital is fine)
- Date
- Who you met with (name + relationship)
- Business purpose (one line: "discussed Q3 proposal")
- Amount
For meals under $75, a credit card statement + a brief note in your records is typically sufficient. But saving the receipt is cheap insurance.
Where it goes on Schedule C
Line 24b ("Meals") — enter the full amount; the 50% limitation is applied by the form itself. Software does this automatically. If you're filing by hand, double-check you didn't accidentally halve it yourself and get halved again.
Dollar math for a typical freelancer
$150/month in business meals × 12 = $1,800/year. At 50% deductible = $900. At a combined 22% + 15.3% bracket, that's about $335 in refund impact. Not life-changing, but not trivial either.
We check your Line 24b against industry norms.
Overclaiming meals is an audit red flag. Underclaiming is leaving money on the table. We flag both.