How to Calculate Meal Percentages
- 1). Work from your receipts or log to add up your total meal expenses that you intend to deduct for the year.
- 2). Determine whether you can deduct the full costs of the meals (for special cases only) or if you will deduct only 50 percent of the costs of the meals.
- 3). Divide your total costs by two if you are deducting 50 percent of your meal costs to get your final figure. If you are eligible to deduct the full amount of the meals, use that figure for your tax deduction.