Groceries for your home is not a deductible business expense.
Why it is not deductible
Household food is a personal living cost and is not deductible, including on a return where you work from home all day. Nothing about being self-employed converts the weekly shop into a business expense. Groceries only become deductible when they are bought for a specific business purpose: food for a staff meal or a client meeting, which is line 24b, or ingredients you resell, which is cost of goods sold. The test is who ate it and why, not which card paid.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for groceries for your home is already written down.
Start for freeWhat groceries for your home is confused with
- Line 24b, deductible meals
- Food bought for a business meal with a client or for employees working is a 50 percent deduction on line 24b; food for your own household is not deductible.
- Part III line 38, part iii line 38, materials and supplies
- If you cook or bake what you sell, the ingredients are not a meal at all: they are materials and supplies in Part III and reach the return through cost of goods sold.
- Line 30, line 30, business use of your home
- Working from home gives you a possible home office deduction on line 30 for a share of the housing costs, and food is not one of those costs.
Examples people try to deduct here
- A $180 weekly family shop, not deductible
- $40 of coffee and snacks for the household, not deductible
- $55 of catering ingredients for a client event, in cost of goods sold
- $32 of groceries for a working lunch with two employees, deducted at $16
- $24 of groceries eaten in a rental on an overnight work trip, deducted at $12
What does not belong here
- The weekly shop claimed because you work from home.
- Food for the family split out by a percentage you estimated.
- Snacks for the home office treated as office expense.
- A grocery run on a business card with no business purpose behind it.
What to keep
Keep business food on its own receipt, not mixed into a household shop, because a split receipt is the kind of claim that does not hold up. If a shop was genuinely for a client event or a staff meal, note the event on it.
Other things that are not deductible
| Expense | Line |
|---|---|
| a business suit | Not deductible |
| a government fine or penalty | Not deductible |
| a parking ticket | Not deductible |
| a personal expense on the business card | Not deductible |
| a spouse's airfare on your business trip | Not deductible |
| a traffic ticket | Not deductible |
| an unpaid invoice | Not deductible |
| commuting mileage | Not deductible |
| country club dues | Not deductible |
| estimated tax payments | Not deductible |
| federal income tax | Not deductible |
| interest on underpaid federal income tax | Not deductible |
Related lookups
- Where does a client lunch go on Schedule C?
- Where do print on demand supplies go?
- Can I deduct homeowners insurance for an office?
Sources
This page explains how Schedule C lines work. It is general information, not tax advice for your situation. If an expense is large or the answer turns on a fact about your business, confirm it with your tax preparer.
Looking for a different expense? The full Schedule C line lookup has every line from 8 to 27 with the expenses that belong on each, and Schedule C expense categories walks the whole form in order.
Log it once, with the line already on it. Type an expense in plain words in ClaryBook and it is filed with a date, vendor, amount and what it was for, so the number your preparer needs for groceries for your home is already written down.
Start for free