Generally, businesses are limited to deducting 50% of allowable meal and entertainment (M&E) expenses. But certain expenses are 100% deductible, including expenses:
- For food and beverages furnished at the workplace primarily for employees,
- Treated as employee compensation,
- That are excludable from employees’ income as de minimis fringe benefits,
- For recreational or social activities for employees, such as holiday parties, or
- Paid or incurred under a reimbursement or similar arrangement in connection with the performance of services.
If your company has substantial M&E expenses, you can reduce your tax bill by separately accounting for and documenting expenses that are 100% deductible. If doing so would create an administrative burden, you may be able to use statistical sampling methods to estimate the portion of M&E expenses that are fully deductible. For more information on how to take advantage of the 100% deduction, please contact us.
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