Can i deduct meals for my employees

Institutional Investments Insurance. Employer-Provided Meals Employer-provided meals are tax-free to the employee. Employer Business Premises Employer business premises refer to the location where employees work, or, in some circumstances, to an eating facility or cafeteria.

Employer-operated eating facilities must meet the following criteria: Be owned or leased by the business Be employer operated—that is, by employees of the business—or operated by a third party under a contract Be located on or near the business premises Provide food or drinks during or immediately before or after the workday Be nondiscriminatory Convenience of the Employer A business passes the convenience-of-the-employer test if it provides meals for a substantial business reason.

Employer-Provided Snacks The value of employer-provided snacks is specifically excluded from gross income as a de minimis fringe benefit. Ask a Question. Related Topics. View More. Contact Us with Questions. Employee meal costs, like lunch during a normal work day, are normally private non- deductible expenses. But an employer can provide the following meals to employees, claim a tax deduction for the expenses, and pay no fringe benefits tax:.

Business owners operating their business through a trust or company structure are also employees of the business.

As such the business can also claim a tax deduction for their meal expenses when it meets the criteria detailed above. Employee Meal Expenses on Business Premises. Column From the Tax Adviser. Employer-Provided Employee Meals Questions concerning this employee benefit. Substantially Noncompensatory Business The IRS considers the following factors when determining whether a substantially noncompensatory business reason is present: Timing of the meal. The employer must provide meals to employees on a workday during the work shift.

For food-service employees or if extenuating circumstances prevent a meal during shifts , the meal must be provided immediately before or after a shift. In addition, this means no more than one meal per normal eight-hour shift and does not apply to meals on days off or at other nonworking times.

Availability during emergencies. Under this factor, an employer requires that employees be available during meal periods to respond to emergencies. The central issue here is the definition of emergency : While emergencies generally are thought of as events of a nature or type that have happened in the past or are reasonably expected to happen in the future, some courts have defined them much more narrowly, as unexpected serious occurrences requiring prompt actions.

Another issue is whether this factor applies to business needs that may not be considered true emergencies; an example is employees who eat at their desks so they can respond to urgent business situations. Short lunch period due to nature of employers business.

This usually refers to businesses that have peak workloads during the employees lunch time. The short meal period must be due to the distinct nature of the employers business.