Can I claim for meals when I am working?

The good news is that you can claim for meals allowance while you are travelling but only during certain conditions.

If you have to make journeys for business purposes you can generally claim your travelling expenses on behalf of the company, whatever they maybe.

What are business journeys?

Business journeys are those that are made from your permanent workplace to another workplace. For example, those that are made from your workplace to visit a client or from a client's workplace to another.

However, it does not include travel from home to your permanent workplace such as ordinary commuting.  

As a general rule of thumb - if you can claim for travel then you can generally claim for subsistence and meals.

If you are working away overnight then some rules apply:

• you can claim for an over night meal.  You can also claim for overnight meals if you stay is for a period of time - assuming it is away from your main home.
• Overnight meals are not limited to a specific amount where they are reasonable costs.
• Breakfast can be claimed for if you are staying overnight or you journey started early in the morning.

Flat Rate

Alternatively, you can claim a flat rate fee for food and meals. This depends on when you are leaving and returning from work, and you can claim as follows: -

If away from home 5 – 10 hours                                                           £5

If away from home 10 – 15 hours                                                        £10

If away from home over 15 hours (and beyond 8pm)                            £25

If working beyond 8pm supplementary rate                                         £10

It is always good practice to keep hold of the receipts for the food expenses that you have incurred.

Please note, VAT cannot be claimed on the flat rate basis, but it can on receipt basis.