Sorry, but you would have no deduction.
There have been
decisions on the deductibility of fireman's (EMT's would be similar) meals that
have gone both ways. As the dust settles, comparing all of the cases indicates
they may be deducted in a very few situations. These are:
- The deduction is only for
payments into a common mess fund (not the purchase of meals themselves)
- that is required as a condition
of employment by your employer, and is not contained in a union contract,
- you are required to pay for the
meals whether you eat them or not, and
- the funds are maintained by the
employer.
If you don't meet
each of the three criteria, the meals are not deductible. In most of these
plans, the payments are voluntary which would not meet the 2nd criteria.
If deductible,
the expenses are a miscellaneous itemized deduction. Also, the expenses are
limited to the amount paid in, not a per diem rate. In the few cases where they
are deductible, they would be a miscellaneous itemized deduction for employee
business expenses. Miscellaneous itemized deductions are only deductible if you
itemize, and then only to the extent that your miscellaneous itemized
deductions such as employee business expenses exceed 2% of your adjusted gross
income (AGI). Turbotax explains the 2%
limit here. The leading case for the deduction under the limited criteria
above is Sibla v. Comm.
