The U.S. Internal Revenue Service recently increased the allowable travel deduction an unprecedented 20% to 48.5 cents per mile because of rising gasoline prices. The obvious question for some cyclists then becomes: "Can I deduct the cost of food as a business travel expense?"
One Canadian managed to do exactly that. Alan Scott of Toronto argued before Revenue Canada that because automobile expenses are deductible, he should be able to deduct the expense of the extra calories he consumes. After 15 years, he finally won his battle.
Other Canadian cyclists are cautioned that Revenue Canada will not generally allow this expense. In the U.S., the IRS absolutely does not allow for food as a travel expense.
I read about Alan Scott's case last night at the Bikes At Work website. In a weird bit of Internet synchronicity, Treehugger mentioned the Scott case today.
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