Confused about business travel and meal deductions in 2026? Tony Mazzo of A Mazzo Accounting in Wyomissing breaks down the updated tax rules for small business owners and self-employed professionals in the Greater Reading area.
A few weeks ago, a small business owner walked into my office in Wyomissing with a shoebox full of receipts and a look on his face that I recognized immediately. He had just come back from a week-long industry conference in Dallas and had taken a client to dinner twice, grabbed a few solo meals at the hotel, and extended the trip over the weekend to see some family. Now he was staring at a pile of credit card statements wondering what he could actually write off.
I see this kind of thing all the time. And honestly, the rules around business travel deductions, meal deductions, and entertainment expenses have changed so many times over the past several years that the confusion is completely understandable.
So let me walk you through what the tax law actually says for 2026, because some of what you may have heard or assumed is no longer accurate.
The Biggest Thing to Know Right Now
The rules have shifted again. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in mid 2025, introduced new limitations on top of the changes that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act already made back in 2017. The combination of those two pieces of legislation means that business owners and self-employed professionals need to rethink how they categorize and document their expenses.
Here is the most important change for 2026: meals and snacks you provide at your workplace are no longer deductible at all. That breakroom coffee, the Friday pizza for your staff, the catered lunch during a busy stretch? Zero percent deductible. That is a significant shift from even a year ago when those were partially deductible.
What You Can Still Deduct
The good news is that business meals with clients, customers, and prospects remain 50 percent deductible as long as you or a member of your team is present and business is being discussed. So that dinner meeting where you reviewed a proposal with a potential customer? Still qualifies. A working lunch with your vendor to negotiate pricing? That counts too.
Meals while traveling overnight for business also remain 50 percent deductible. This applies whether you are eating alone at the hotel or sitting down with a colleague. The key is that the trip itself needs to have a legitimate business purpose, and you need to be away from your tax home long enough that you need to rest or sleep before heading back.
Transportation costs are still fully deductible. That includes flights, trains, rental cars (the business use portion), taxis, rideshares, tolls, and parking. You can also deduct lodging, dry cleaning, business calls, internet access, and baggage fees.
What You Cannot Deduct
Entertainment is still off the table. Sports tickets, concerts, golf outings, theater nights with clients, amusement parks? None of those are deductible, even when you are genuinely talking business. This has been the case since 2018 and nothing in the recent legislation changed it.
There is one notable exception. Company wide events for your employees, like a holiday party or a summer outing, remain 100 percent deductible as long as the event is primarily for the benefit of your general workforce and not just ownership or highly compensated team members.
Also, you cannot deduct travel or lodging expenses for family members who come along on a business trip unless they are employees of your business traveling for a legitimate work purpose. You drove with your spouse? The mileage or car rental is still deductible. Your spouse’s separate airfare? That is on you personally.
Mixed Trips Require Extra Attention
This is where I see a lot of small business owners run into trouble. You attend a four day conference, then stay the weekend to explore the city. You need to allocate your expenses between the business days and the personal days. The conference registration is 100 percent deductible. Lodging for those four business nights is deductible. Meals during those business days follow the 50 percent rule. But the extra two nights of lodging and your weekend meals and activities? Those stay personal.
The same logic applies to international travel. When your entire trip is business related, you can generally deduct the travel expenses. When part of the trip is personal, you need to split things up based on actual business days versus personal days.
Record Keeping Is Everything
The IRS expects you to document the date, the amount, who was there, and the business purpose for every meal and travel expense you plan to deduct. “Client dinner” written on the back of a receipt does not cut it anymore. You need something more specific. It does not need to be a full paragraph. Just enough to show the expense was real, reasonable, and connected to your business.
Keep your receipts organized, whether that means a folder in your desk or a digital system on your phone. Hold onto those records for at least three years from the date you file.
Why This Matters for Self-Employed Professionals and Small Business Owners
One thing that has not changed since 2018 is this: employees who receive a W-2 generally cannot deduct unreimbursed travel or meal expenses on their personal returns. These deductions are available to self-employed individuals, sole proprietors, and small business owners who report expenses on Schedule C. Partners report through Form 1065. S corporation shareholders use Form 1120S. The rules apply differently depending on your business structure, and getting it wrong can cost you.
I have worked with business owners across the Greater Reading area, from Wyomissing to Sinking Spring to Kenhorst and beyond, who assumed they knew the rules because they read an article from a few years ago. Tax law does not sit still. The deduction percentages change. The categories shift. What was partially deductible last year might be worth nothing this year, and what seems like a gray area might have a clear answer when you look at the specifics.
The Bottom Line
You work hard to grow your business. You travel to meet clients, attend conferences, and build the relationships that keep things moving forward. You deserve to take every deduction you are entitled to, but you also need to make sure you are not claiming something that could trigger an audit or a penalty.
That is what we do here at A Mazzo Accounting. We help small business owners and self-employed professionals in Berks County and the Greater Reading area navigate exactly these kinds of questions. Tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll, and the kind of personalized guidance that takes the guesswork out of your tax situation.
Before you file anything or make assumptions about what qualifies, give us a call. We are here to help you get it right.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as tax advice. Give me a call to discuss your situation before making any tax decisions.