Deductible meal expenses for the self-employed

Sources and assumptions

• bofip.impots.gouv.fr — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026

  Excerpt from the source : « Pour l’année 2026, la valeur du repas pris au domicile est évaluée forfaitairement à 5,50 € toutes taxes comprises. »

• bofip.impots.gouv.fr — tax year 2026, verified on September 4, 2026

  Excerpt from the source : « Pour l’année 2026, cette limite d’exonération des indemnités pour frais de repas est évaluée forfaitairement à 21,40 € toutes taxes comprises »

Calculation assumptions

• The calculation covers meals taken alone at the places where the business is carried on, when the distance from home makes it impossible to eat there. Business meals and meals taken at conferences or seminars follow another rule: they are deductible for their full amount, with no deduction of the value of a meal taken at home.
• The calculation assumes profit taxed under an actual-profit regime (controlled declaration for BNC, simplified or normal actual regime for BIC). Under a micro regime the flat-rate allowance already covers all costs: no meal expense deduction is added on top.
• The amount entered is applied as is to every meal of the year. If your spending varies, run the calculation per group of meals of similar cost and add up the deductions.
• Above the limit, the deduction is capped automatically. The possibility of deducting a higher spend in full, on proof of exceptional circumstances relating to the needs of the business and to the catering actually available nearby, is not modelled: it is assessed case by case.
• The tax saving is estimated at a constant marginal rate: deduction × the rate entered. It ignores any change of tax bracket, the effect of the deduction on your social contribution base, and VAT.