1099 for Per Diem Meals

[YardDog1]

Due to a large home repair, my builder is offering me $150 per diem for meals OR reimbursement daily limit of $150.     If I take the per diem, he advised I would get a 1099.     This is less than the federal rates for my area.     I would rather not deal with the hassle of collecting itemized receipts and waiting for the reimbursement.    How should I handle this on taxes?    If I net out zero, I would prefer the per diem.   I am retired so quite a simple return.  Thank you!

[Opus 17]

My thinking is to treat this as a discount on the cost of repairs or the cost of the home.  That would be non-taxable, even though the builder's accountant may advise them to issue a 1099 for business reasons.  There is a way to report a 1099 on your return and then exclude it as non-taxable, we can cover the specifics when you are ready to file.  

(Per the IRS, there is a right way to do this, but you can only do it in Turbotax using the version installed on your own computer. The online version only allows an almost-right method, but the IRS seems to tolerate it.  That's for 2024.  In case they update the program for 2025, I'll wait to give you instructions for 2025 until the software is released.) 

If the facts make this something other than a discount, the payment might be taxable, but I would need more information to be able to think about it.