Your own meals while traveling overnight belongs on Line 24b, deductible meals.
Why line 24b
Meals you eat alone while away from your tax home overnight are deductible on line 24b at 50 percent. This is the one case where eating by yourself qualifies: the trip, not the company, is what makes the cost a business one. You have a choice of method. Deduct what you actually spent with receipts, or claim the federal meals and incidental expenses per-diem rate for the location and the dates, which still gets reduced to 50 percent. You cannot mix the two methods for the same trip.
Stop looking up lines one at a time. ClaryBook totals your year into an IRS Schedule C worksheet in form order, Part I and Part II line by line, so your own meals while traveling overnight lands on Line 24b without you sorting it.
Start for freeWhat your own meals while traveling overnight is confused with
- Line 24a, travel
- The flight, the hotel and the rental car on that trip are line 24a at full cost; only the food and drink drop to line 24b and the 50 percent limit.
- not deductible, not deductible
- A meal on a day trip with no overnight stay and no client present is personal, because you would have eaten anyway.
Examples that belong on line 24b
- A $32 airport dinner on the way to a client, deducted at $16
- $71 of food on a two-night job, deducted at $35.50
- A per-diem claim for six days in a city, halved
- A $19 hotel breakfast charged to the room, deducted at $9.50
- $24 of groceries bought to eat in an Airbnb on a work trip, deducted at $12
What does not belong here
- Meals on the personal days of a mixed trip.
- Meals on a same-day local trip with nobody else present.
- A per-diem claim plus actual receipts for the same days.
- The full cost rather than 50 percent.
The limit that applies
Limited to 50 percent. A self-employed taxpayer may use the federal meals and incidental expenses per-diem rate instead of receipts, but must still deduct lodging at actual cost.
What to keep
If you use actual cost, keep the receipts with the trip dates. If you use the per diem, record the location, the dates and the rate you applied, and keep the travel evidence that proves you were away overnight.
Other expenses on line 24b
| Expense | Line |
|---|---|
| a coffee meeting | Schedule C, Line 24b |
| a meal at a conference | Schedule C, Line 24b |
| a staff holiday party | Schedule C, Line 24b |
| a team meal for employees | Schedule C, Line 24b |
| lunch with a client | Schedule C, Line 24b |
Related lookups
Sources
- Topic no. 511, Business travel expenses
- Publication 463, Travel, Gift, and Car Expenses
- Instructions for Schedule C (Form 1040)
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.
Stop looking up lines one at a time. ClaryBook totals your year into an IRS Schedule C worksheet in form order, Part I and Part II line by line, so your own meals while traveling overnight lands on Line 24b without you sorting it.
Start for free