Private ruling: Travel expenses
Published: August 2014
Ruling period: Year ended 30 June 2014
Date scheme commenced: 1 July 2013

Ruling: Q1: Are you entitled to claim a deduction for meal expenses incurred while you were undertaking work related travel? | A1: Yes.

Relevant facts and circumstances: You travel for work, as required by your employer, for an extended period of time. You would travel on a Sunday night or Monday morning and return on a Friday afternoon. Your employer paid for hotel accommodation each night however no meal or incidental costs were covered. The accommodation provided did not offer any kitchen facilities and you were unable to prepare your own meals as you would at home. You have incurred meal expenses (specifically dinner meals) which you are seeking a tax deduction for. You are not seeking a deduction for breakfast or lunch expenses.

Relevant legislative provisions: Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) section 8-1 | Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (ITAA 1997) section 900-15

Reasons for decision: Summary: Section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997 allows a deduction for all losses and outgoings to the extent to which they are incurred in carrying on a business. However, no deduction is allowed for expenses to the extent to which they are of a capital, private or domestic nature. The cost of meals is generally considered to be a private or domestic expense and not deductible. An exception to this is where you are undertaking work-related travel, for instance you attend a work-related seminar in another town and are required to stay overnight. A deduction is allowable for the cost of meals if you are required to sleep away from home, as the meal expense would then form part of the travel expense. In your case, you incurred an amount relating to dinner meals while undertaking work-related travel, where you were required to stay away from home for approximately a week at a time. While your employer paid for the relevant accommodation expenses, you did not receive any form of remuneration for incidental or meal expenses incurred during these periods. As such, the dinner meal expenses are considered to be incurred in the course of producing assessable income, as your employment required overnight or extensive travel, and these meals are not considered to be private in nature. Accordingly, your meal expenses incurred while travelling for work are deductible under section 8-1 of the ITAA 1997, provided the relevant substantiation provisions of the ITAA 1997 are satisfied. Under Subdivision 900-B of the ITAA 1997, a deduction is not allowable for a work expense, unless the expense qualifies as a deduction under a provision of the Act and written evidence of the expense has been obtained and retained by the employee taxpayer.