I worked out of town for several months and my employer paid for hotel but nothing for meals. Can I claim a tax deduction for them.?

StephenWeinstein

This year , no. Under the old rules (before 2018): Generally speaking (there are exceptions), if you were too far away from home to drive back and forth each day (I assume you were, since he paid for a hotel) and for long enough to need to sleep (again, I assume you were, because he paid for a hotel), but less than a year, then you can deduct your choice of either half of the cost of meals or the federal government's "meals and incidental expenses" (M&IE) rate. You cannot deduct the full cost (although I've sometimes been able to deduct more than the full cost, when I used the M&IE rate and it was more than twice my actual cost). If you worked in the same place for over a year, then you cannot deduct meals (but you may be able to deduct moving expenses).