I’m in the transportation industry. Can I deduct my meals while traveling on business?

If, for example, you are a self-employed long-haul trucker, then you can deduct 80% of your meal costs while away from your tax home and subject to the Department of Transportation’s hours of service limits. If you are not subject to the Department of Transportation’s hours of service limits, only 50% of the meal costs are deductible. You can figure your deductible meal costs based on a standard meal allowance (e.g., for the first nine months of 2019 the allowance is $66 per day, or $71 per day outside the continental U.S.), subject to the 80% or 50% deduction limit. If you are an employee, you cannot deduct meal costs in 2018 through 2025 due to the suspension of the deduction for miscellaneous itemize deductions subject to the 2% of adjusted gross income floor.