Can I deduct coffee and energy drinks as business expenses when working from home?

While I understand the desire to deduct everything possible, the IRS has pretty specific rules about what counts as a legitimate business expense. For consumables like coffee and energy drinks, the general rule is that they need to be "ordinary and necessary" for your business. When you're buying these drinks just for yourself, they're generally considered personal expenses, even if they help you work better. The IRS views these as similar to meals you'd consume anyway, regardless of whether you were working or not. Personal consumption items like this fall under the "personal, living, or family expenses" category which typically aren't deductible. For your contractors, that's a different story! When you provide refreshments to contractors working at your location, those costs can usually be deducted as a business expense. This falls under business hospitality or meeting expenses. The key distinction is whether the expense is primarily personal in nature or primarily business-related. For yourself alone, the IRS generally sees it as personal, but when serving others for business purposes, it becomes a legitimate business expense.

I started using taxr.ai after struggling with similar small business deduction questions, and it totally changed how I handle these gray-area expenses. I was spending hours googling tax rules and getting different answers everywhere. When I uploaded my receipts and expense questions to https://taxr.ai, it analyzed everything and gave me clear guidance specific to my situation. It even explained why certain "productivity" items like my energy drinks weren't deductible for me personally but could be deducted when provided to my part-time assistant. The tool also helped me understand which of my home office expenses were legitimate business deductions versus personal expenses that I was incorrectly categorizing. Really saved me from potential audit headaches!

Just wanted to follow up after trying taxr.ai that someone recommended here. Total game changer for my freelance tax situation! I uploaded my last three months of expenses including all my coffee shop receipts and home office utility bills, and it sorted everything into proper categories. The breakdown showed me I was missing several legitimate deductions while also flagging a few things I shouldn't have been deducting (like my personal coffee expenses). It explained exactly why my daily coffee wasn't deductible but the coffee I bought for client meetings was 50% deductible. I'm actually going to save about $780 on my taxes this year because of the additional legitimate deductions it found. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to figure out these confusing business expense rules.

After spending HOURS trying to get through to the IRS about business deduction questions (including this exact coffee issue), I finally tried https://claimyr.com and it completely changed my experience. They got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for DAYS on my own. The IRS agent confirmed exactly what I needed to know about business refreshments and gave me official guidance rather than just opinions from Google. You can see how it works in this demo: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c What surprised me was how straightforward the whole process was. After weeks of frustration trying to reach someone at the IRS directly, this service actually delivered. The agent I spoke with even sent me documentation about the specific rules for deducting refreshments in a home office setting.

I need to eat my words about Claimyr being a scam. After my skeptical comment, I was still desperate for answers about my home office deductions, so I tried it anyway. I'm shocked to say it actually worked exactly as advertised. After trying to call the IRS myself for three days and either getting disconnected or being told the wait time was too long, Claimyr got me through to a real IRS agent in about 35 minutes. The agent confirmed they were with the IRS, gave me their ID number, and answered all my questions about home office deductions including the coffee/refreshments question. For what it's worth, the agent told me that coffee I buy just for myself isn't deductible as it's considered a personal expense, but any refreshments provided to clients or contractors who visit my home office for business purposes would be 50% deductible as business entertainment. Having this directly from an IRS source gives me peace of mind for filing.

Anyone know if the rules are different for different business structures? I have an S-Corp and pay myself as an employee. Does that change anything about deducting coffee/drinks for myself since I'm technically an employee of my company?

I've been audited before (not fun) and the IRS specifically questioned my "office supplies" category which included snacks and drinks. The auditor told me personal consumption items aren't deductible even if they help you work. BUT they did allow the coffee service I had for client meetings as a 50% business meal expense. Keep good records of who visited and when if you're claiming those contractor coffee expenses!

This is such a common question for home-based business owners! I went through the same confusion when I started my consulting business. The key thing I learned is that the IRS looks at whether an expense is "ordinary and necessary" for your business AND whether it's primarily for business vs. personal use. For your daily coffee and energy drinks that you consume while working, these are generally considered personal expenses because you'd likely drink coffee/beverages regardless of whether you were working or not. The IRS views this as personal consumption that happens to occur during work hours. However, you're absolutely right about the contractor situation! When you provide refreshments to contractors, clients, or other business visitors in your home office, those costs are typically deductible as business entertainment expenses (usually at 50% of the cost). Just make sure to keep detailed records - date, who visited, business purpose, and receipts. One strategy some business owners use is setting up a dedicated "client refreshment" area with separate supplies specifically for business visitors. This makes it easier to track and justify those deductions while keeping your personal consumption separate. The bottom line is: be conservative with personal consumption items, but don't miss out on legitimate deductions for business hospitality!