10/05/2026
Own your own business? On vacation? Have a meal with clients and discuss business? Think you can write that off??? ANSWER: Potentially!
If you’re on vacation and happen to eat with a client, the IRS generally looks at whether the meal was ordinary and necessary for your business, not simply whether you talked about business.
🍽️ Client meal: Generally 50% deductible if you actually discuss business or the meal is otherwise associated with conducting business.
🧾 Keep the receipt, date, location, attendees, and a brief note about the business purpose.
✈️ Your vacation travel: The fact that you discussed business over a meal does not make the entire vacation deductible.
If the trip is primarily personal, your personal lodging, airfare, etc. generally remain personal expenses.
If the trip itself is primarily for business, some transportation and other qualifying travel expenses may be deductible.
Example: You are vacationing in Pensacola and meet a client for dinner to discuss their business and upcoming tax work. The $200 dinner could generally result in a $100 business deduction (subject to the usual rules), but that doesn’t make your hotel or vacation activities deductible.
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