You can total all your business travel expenses but you have to list Meals and entertainment separately. Meals and entertainment may not be 100% deductible. Just make sure you keep the records for the total amounts.
See the screenshot below.
Are the cost of my meals while traveling for business tax deductible?
You can deduct 50% of unreimbursed meal expenses if you must stop for substantial sleep or rest to properly perform your duties while traveling away from home on business or the meal is business-related entertainment. You cannot deduct expenses for meals that are lavish or extravagant based on the facts and circumstances. You can deduct the actual cost of your meals or use a standard IRS meal allowance based on the location of the travel.
What types of meal and entertainment expenses are 100% deductible on a business return?
If meals or entertainment are provided for the benefit of your employees, you can write off 100% of the cost as a business expense. This is an exception to the usual 50% write-off rule for meals and entertainment.
Common examples of expenses that can be written off at 100% include:
- Meal and entertainment expenses for a company picnic or holiday party.
- Free coffee, bottled water, donuts, etc. provided to employees at the place of business.
- Free food or beverages provided to the public for promotional purposes.
- Meals provided at the place of business to more than half of the employees as an enticement for working after-hours, weekends, or holidays.
- Cost of meals included on employee W-2 forms as taxable compensation.
Travel expenses can be deductible if they're incurred while conducting business related work. Typical travel expenses include car, airfare, lodging, meals, and entertainment. For these expenses to be deductible, they must be ordinary and necessary.
Vehicle expenses can be calculated by tracking either:
- All your vehicle costs (gas, repairs, maintenance, depreciation, etc.), or
- Your business miles x the IRS mileage rate ($0.54 for 2016). For this option you have keep a log of all your business trips.
You can add tolls and parking fees to both methods of calculating vehicle expenses.
Business meals are deductible but only at 50% of the actual cost. Meal expenses are deductible if your business trip is overnight or long enough that you need to stop for substantial sleep or rest to properly perform your duties. Meal expenses are also deductible if the meal is business-related entertainment, regardless of where the meal takes place.
The method used to deduct expenses depends on whether you are self-employed or are employed by someone else. Self-employed individuals generally take their travel expenses as a deduction against self-employment income, while those who are employed by others take their unreimbursed employee expenses as an itemized deduction on Schedule A, limited to amounts above 2% of their adjusted gross income (AGI).
To enter your Self Employed business
expenses:
- Sign
into your account and open your return by clicking the orange Take me
to my return button.
- Type Sch
C in the search/find bar and click search/find.
- Click
on Jump to Sch C.
- Click
on start/edit or Add Another Business.
- At
the Your XXX Business screen, scroll down to Business
Expenses, Other Common Business Expenses. Click Start/Edit.
- At
the Your XXX Business screen, scroll down to Business Expenses, Business Vehicle
Expense. Click Start/Edit.
- At
the Your XXX Business screen, scroll down to Business Expenses, Home
Office Expenses. Click Start/Edit.
