Why wouldn't the code allow such meals? They're allowed for business travel out of town (within limits).

I do that as well...still...what else am I missing? :confused:

Josh,

I do this a lot, especially during football and basketball season. I'll grab something for the ride to the game or the ride home after the game (depending on what little town I'm headed to in Nebraska or Iowa), and keep the receipt.

I'm all for it because, as you gentleman know, it's a practice I believe most of us do rushing from work to games. I've never been able to justify it to my satisfaction but I'm definitely a tax novice at best. I will definitely start keeping my receipts from this point forward.

-Josh

Concerning the State and Local does this mean I just report it all at the end of the year rather than quarterly?

Publication 463 (2008), Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses

From what I can understand, unless you're traveling so far where you need a place to sleep, you cannot deduct meals. I'm not a tax professional, though.

You can deduct the cost of meals in either of the following situations.

*

It is necessary for you to stop for substantial sleep or rest to properly perform your duties while traveling away from home on business.
*

The meal is business-related entertainment.





Which at the high school level is, basically, never.

This isn't the only situation listed. There's another one. But if you read the entire publication, it does appear as long as the meal was not extravagent or horribly expensive, and you are away from home long enough that it is impossible to eat a meal at home, it can be a business expense.

An example: an all-day business trip I took on behalf of my employer. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive one way, and I had breakfast before I left, and arrived back well before supper, so the employer reimbursed me for lunch because I was still on the road for lunch time.

I understand the same logic applies to meals when doing officiating. Since we normally leave at 3:30 or 4:00 for a long road trip to do a football game and sometimes don't arrive till midnight, dinner would be a business expense because we are not eating at home.

I save a lot of money each year on my taxes because I list Bambi on them. She comes under the category of "Monkey Business Deduction". :rolleyes:

A dentist in my local area was recently convicted of tax evasion. Among the improper deductions listed in the newspaper that he took included expenses incurred at some Brothels in Nevada. He claimed those expenses as "professional education."

The problem is the IRS and the U.S. Attorneys office didn't buy the arguement that a certain sex act leaves bruises in the "escort's" mouth and the dentist was researching that. I know that bruises are an after-effect of a certain sex act because it was an out-of-the-blue comment made by a dental hygiene instructor where I teach at. :D