Are Business Meals Tax Deductible? The 50% Rule Explained
Are business meals deductible? Usually 50%, if the meal is ordinary, necessary, and you or an employee are present. Here is what qualifies, what does not, and the records to keep.
Mylo Team • September 4, 2026 • 2 min read
The short answer
Business meals are generally 50% tax deductible. To qualify, the meal has to be ordinary and necessary for your business, you or an employee must be present, and it cannot be lavish or extravagant. The catch most people miss is substantiation: a card total is not enough on its own.
What counts as a business meal
Think a meal with a client, a working lunch with a team member, or food while traveling for work. The person claiming it (or an employee) needs to be there, and there should be a real business reason. Grabbing lunch alone on a normal workday generally does not qualify, and neither does a purely social meal. Entertainment, such as tickets to an event, is not deductible, though a meal bought separately at that event can still be 50%.
50% vs the rare 100%
The default is 50%. A temporary rule made restaurant meals 100% deductible in 2021 and 2022, but that has expired. A few situations stay 100%, such as food for a company-wide holiday party, meals you sell to customers, or meals treated as taxable compensation. For anything else, plan on half.
The records that make it stick
For each business meal, the IRS wants the amount, the date, the place, the business purpose, and the business relationship of who attended. That is why the itemized receipt matters, not just the card slip: see what an itemized receipt is. If you ever lose one, understand your options in the Cohan rule, and keep meals organized the way you categorize business expenses.
The faster way: let Mylo keep the proof automatically
This is where Mylo quietly does the heavy lifting. It works in the background to capture every receipt from your inbox and the stores you shop at, matches each one to the card charge that paid for it, and files it as a categorized expense, so when you claim a business meal the proof is already there. No new card and no manual entry: Mylo works on top of the Visa, Mastercard, or Amex you already use, and syncs clean, categorized expenses to QuickBooks. Free for individuals on iOS, Android, and the web; teams are $9/user/mo (30-day free trial).
Sources: IRS guidance on meals and entertainment (IRC section 274, Publication 463). This article is general information, not tax advice. Rules change and situations differ, so check with a qualified tax professional for your situation.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of business meals can I deduct?
Generally 50% of a qualifying business meal. A temporary 100% deduction for restaurant meals applied only to 2021 and 2022 and has expired, so the standard 50% limit is back.
Is entertainment deductible with a meal?
Entertainment itself is generally not deductible. If food is provided at an entertainment event, the meal can still be 50% deductible when it is billed or itemized separately from the entertainment.
Do I need a receipt for a business meal?
You need to substantiate the amount, date, place, business purpose, and attendees. Keep the itemized receipt; for meals under a small threshold the receipt rules are lighter, but the business-purpose record still applies.
Can Mylo track my business meals?
Yes. Mylo captures the itemized meal receipt from your inbox or a scan, matches it to the card charge, and lets the context travel with it, so the deduction is backed by proof.
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Mylo Team
The Mylo Team writes practical guides on receipts, expenses, write-offs and keeping your books clean, from the people building Mylo, the app that puts receipts and expenses on autopilot.
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