In the past, business owners could rely on an ATO view that a simple café meal taken while discussing business might be “just sustenance” and therefore deductible.
The ATO has since tightened this interpretation.
Today, any meal eaten with a client or colleague in a café, restaurant or similar setting is treated as “entertainment”.
This means:
- No tax deduction, and
- No GST credit, unless it forms part of a Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) arrangement (and most small businesses avoid FBT for meals because it costs too much!).
The only food and drink that remains deductible without FBT includes:
- basic refreshments (eg tea, coffee, water, biscuits, fruit) when provided at work during work hours,
- meals while travelling overnight, and
- overtime meals under specific rules and / or Awards.
This isn’t a new law — it’s a tighter ATO interpretation designed to increase consistency across the board.
Kerri puts it succinctly as: “If you’re eating with a client at a café or restaurant, the ATO now treats it as entertainment — not a business deduction. Only meals associated with overnight travel, or light in-office refreshments, are deductible.”
If you’d like certainty, we can review your specific situation and help you set up a simple internal policy so you, and your team, know what can and can’t be claimed.