{"id":9366,"date":"2021-01-13T12:54:49","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T12:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/?p=9366"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:28:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T10:28:02","slug":"what-is-the-daily-self-employed-food-allowance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/the-tax-basics\/how-to-reduce-the-tax-you-pay\/what-is-the-daily-self-employed-food-allowance\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the daily self-employed food allowance?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Did you know that if you\u2019re self-employed you might be able to claim back some of the money you spend on food? The <strong>self-employed food allowance<\/strong> can be claimed as a business expense on your <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/glossary\/self-assessment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Self Assessment<\/a> tax return. But you can\u2019t just claim everything you eat.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div> <!-- .c-body -->\n\n<div class=\"b-cta-mini m-blue m-align-left\">\n    \n    <div class=\"b-cta-mini__content\">\n\n        \n        \n        <div class=\"b-cta-mini__body\">\n            <div class=\"b-block-body\"><p><span class=\"notion-enable-hover\" data-token-index=\"0\">Our <strong>Making Tax Digital (MTD) software<\/strong> for landlords and sole-traders with built-in accountant support is now live. <strong>First month for free!<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><!-- notionvc: 227cc3b6-c5da-4b2e-bf21-eb65dbbc1eac --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Accountant-led onboarding &amp; support<\/li>\n<li>Simple-to-use software<\/li>\n<li>Affordable pricing options \u2013 from \u00a324.99\/month<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n        \n        <div class=\"b-cta-mini__action\">\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/mtd-for-itsa\/\" class=\"c-button m-large  m-mobile-fullwidth\">Learn more<\/a>\n\n\n        <\/div>\n\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/div> <!-- .b-cta-mini -->\n\n<div class=\"c-body\">\n\n\n\n\n<p>Below, we outline what exactly the daily self-employed food allowance is, and what meals can be claimed as a business expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tax in 10(ish) seconds - what are expenses?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H2yyiSfSdoE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How do expenses work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re self-employed, you are in charge of declaring your income to HMRC and paying your own taxes via a tax return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to your self-employed expenses, you should be as organised as you can. You should keep track of all of your income and business expenses monthly, per tax year. This is because you\u2019re allowed to deduct your business expenses from your overall income. This means that you only pay tax on your profits, not your overall earnings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the rules on claiming the daily self-employed food allowance in the UK?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re self-employed, you already know that this gives you the ability to claim back any <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/glossary\/self-assessment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">business expenses<\/a> you incur. Up until a few years ago, self-employed people couldn&#8217;t claim the cost of any food or drink incurred while travelling on business. The only exception was if they were staying away overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>HMRC\u2019s rule when it comes to self-employed expenses is that you can only claim back expenses that are \u2018wholly and exclusively\u2019 for the purposes of trade. To add to the complication, there are various rules that apply. And they depend on whether you&#8217;re a sole trader or <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/glossary\/limited-company-ee300902c930\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">limited company<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Self-employed meal allowances can be difficult to interpret under these rules, as everyone needs food and water to survive. But in business you may end up in certain situations where you need to purchase food or a drink that you can ultimately claim back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div> <!-- .c-body -->\n\n<div class=\"b-highlight-mini m-nude m-align-left\">\n    <div class=\"b-block-body\">\n        <h2>Can you claim coffee as a business expense?<\/h2>\n<p>You can claim back money on food and drink if you can prove that it&#8217;s done as a <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/self-employed-claimable-expenses\/\">business expense<\/a>. The general rule is that you\u2019re allowed to claim a meal as subsistence, but it has to be outside of your everyday working routine.<\/p>\n<p>For example, you can claim back money on a meal you have in a restaurant with clients or suppliers. But you\u2019ll struggle to claim any money back on a meal deal sandwich you ate at your desk!<\/p>\n<p>You cannot claim the same amount back if the food you have indulged in is expensive or extravagant. HMRC don&#8217;t give a clear definition of what classes as a \u2018reasonable\u2019 expense. But they have previously given an example of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hmrc.gov.uk\/paye\/exb\/a-z\/m\/meals.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u2018having an elaborate menu and fine wines\u2019<\/a> as \u2018meals on an unreasonable scale.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t go thinking you can claim a meal at the Ritz!<\/p>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div> <!-- .b-highlight-mini -->\n\n<div class=\"c-body\">\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What about self-employed food allowance if I\u2019m travelling?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/expenses-if-youre-self-employed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">HMRC<\/a> allows you to claim self-employed meal allowance if you\u2019re staying away from home overnight on a business trip. In this case, to be eligible to claim, you must meet the following conditions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The expenses incurred on foods and drinks must be during your business travel only<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You don\u2019t travel to the place or the location on a regular basis as a part of your business<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You stay overnight on a business trip<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that if you\u2019re self-employed you might be able to claim back some of the money you spend on food? The self-employed food allowance can be claimed as a business expense on your Self Assessment tax return. But you can\u2019t just claim everything you eat. Below, we outline what exactly the daily self-employed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[432,427],"tags":[416,356,411],"class_list":["post-9366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to-reduce-the-tax-you-pay","category-the-tax-basics","tag-benefits-reliefs-grants","tag-expenses","tag-self-employed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is the daily self-employed food allowance? &#8211; Taxfix<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Click here to learn more about the daily self-employed food allowance in the UK and what\u00a0meals can be written off as business expenses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/the-tax-basics\/how-to-reduce-the-tax-you-pay\/what-is-the-daily-self-employed-food-allowance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is the daily self-employed food allowance? 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