Too busy to stop for lunch? Write it off at 100%!

For years companies have been told by their accountants they can only write off 50% of their business meals. It doesn’t matter if you are dining with a colleague, client or on an out of town business trip by yourself, it will be limited to 50%. While there is some truth to the above advice, you may be missing out on opportunities where you can actually write off 100% of your business meals!

According to the IRS Publication 15-B, meals can be furnished by a company at 100% write off in the following instances:

	Short Meal Periods – When the business restricts an employee to a short meal period because of the heavy workload during that meal period. An example of this might be a physician who is on call. Because of the importance that they stay on the hospital premises, the company can provide the physician a meal onsite during the on call period.
	Proper meals not otherwise available – If an employee could not otherwise eat a proper meal within a reasonable period of time. An example of this would be if there are insufficient eating facilities near the place of employment.
	Meals provided for all employees – These may be meals to boost morale or promote goodwill with your staff. An example of this would be company picnics, holiday parties, company meetings, etc., where all employees are invited.

Although there is no such thing as a “free lunch”, the ability to write off 100% of your qualified business meals can make a big difference in your deductions. Don’t miss out opportunities to save the extra 50%!