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Love food? Us too! That’s why we made this video about writing off meals on your taxes.

IMPORTANT INFO FOR 2022: Any business meals you get at restaurants are temporarily 100% deductible, thanks to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Before, business meal deductions were capped at 50%, and they'll go back to that in 2023.

In this video, we’ll go over how the business meal deduction works — including which meals are and aren’t eligible, and how to keep records in case you get audited. Spoiler alert: You don’t need a French waiter or even a cloth napkin to take the business meal tax deduction.

In order to count as a business meal, the IRS says you need to be dining with a “current or potential business customer, client, consultant, or similar business contact”. “Similar business contact” is definitely on the vague side, so we’ll break down exactly what that means. Here’s a preview: it covers more than just prospective clients. Folks in your general line of work count. So do people you invite for a business discussion.

To make sure you’re covered, we’ll also go over what DOESN’T count as a business meal. Groceries are out, and so are snacks you eat while working — with some exceptions, which we’ll get into in the video. You also can’t write off a solo lunch, even if you take a call while eating.

Now, how do you keep records for all your eligible business meals? First off, hoarding paper receipts from restaurants isn’t actually necessary. Your credit card and bank statements will have all the info the IRS needs. But in case you do get audited, it’s a good idea to keep some digital breadcrumbs on hand. We’ll talk about what that means in the video.

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 - Intro
1:34 - What is a business meal expense deduction?
2:18 - How to take meal expense deductions
3:43 - What counts as a business meal?
6:07 - What doesn’t count as a business meal?
7:32 - How to keep records of your business meals

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LEARN MORE ABOUT DEDUCTING MEALS

The Business Meal Deduction: A Freelancer's Guide: https://www.keepertax.com/posts/freel...
When Are Meals 100% Deductible?: https://www.keepertax.com/posts/when-...

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