Can I write off meals and mileage expenses on my 2025 Taxes?

I started doing some side gig work this year as a consultant and I've been keeping track of my business expenses. I'm driving to client meetings and sometimes having lunch or coffee with potential clients to discuss projects. I'm wondering if these are legitimate tax deductions? Can I deduct the miles I drive for these meetings and the cost of meals when I'm meeting with clients? I've heard something about meal deductions being only 50% deductible but I'm not sure if that's still true. Also, for mileage, should I be tracking actual car expenses or is there a standard rate I can use? This is my first year with this kind of income so I'm totally lost on what I can and can't claim. Thanks for any help!

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18 comments

Yara Haddad

•8M

You definitely can deduct both meals and mileage for business purposes! For meals with clients, you're right that they're generally 50% deductible (this is still true for 2025). Make sure you keep detailed records including who you met with and what business was discussed - the IRS loves documentation. For mileage, you have two options: the standard mileage rate or actual expenses. Most people find the standard rate easier - it's 67.5 cents per mile for 2025. If you go this route, you just need to track your business miles and multiply by that rate. Keep a log with dates, starting/ending mileage, destination, and business purpose. If you use your car for both business and personal use, you can only deduct the business portion. And remember, commuting to a regular workplace isn't deductible, but traveling between client sites or from your office to a client is.

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Yara Haddad

•8M

For meals, you absolutely need to keep the actual receipts. A spreadsheet is good for organizing, but the IRS will want to see the original documentation if you're audited. I recommend taking photos of receipts too since they tend to fade. For tracking mileage, there are several great apps like MileIQ, Everlance, or Stride. They use GPS to automatically track your trips, then you just swipe to categorize them as business or personal. Most have free versions that work fine for side gigs.

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Paolo Conti

•8M

After struggling with tracking my business expenses for my photography side hustle, I found this amazing tool that saved me so much headache during tax season. I was constantly forgetting to save receipts for client meals and losing track of my mileage between shooting locations. I started using https://taxr.ai and it's been a game changer for organizing all my business deductions. It automatically categorizes expenses and even flags ones that might be questionable before the IRS does. The receipt scanner actually works (unlike some others I've tried) and it helped me identify an additional $3,200 in deductions I would have missed last year.

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Paolo Conti

•8M

It does handle mileage tracking! That's actually one of my favorite features - it uses GPS to track your trips and lets you classify them as business or personal with one swipe. The receipt scanner has been surprisingly good with faded receipts - it uses some kind of enhancement technology that's made even gas station receipts from months ago readable. What makes it different from QuickBooks is that it's specifically designed for tax deduction optimization rather than just bookkeeping. It actively looks for deductions you might miss and gives specific guidance on what documentation you need based on IRS requirements. I was in the same boat - tried several apps before finding one that actually delivered.

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GalaxyGazer

•8M

I wanted to follow up about https://taxr.ai since I was pretty skeptical in my last comment. I decided to give it a try for my consulting business and I'm actually really impressed. The mileage tracker has saved me hours of manual logging, and the meal categorization feature automatically applies the 50% rule so I don't have to calculate it myself. The best part was when I uploaded my bank statements, it found several business expenses I didn't realize were deductible, including some software subscriptions and professional development courses. Already found about $1,700 in additional deductions I would have missed. Sorry for doubting - this thing is legitimately helpful for anyone doing independent work.

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Oliver Wagner

•8M

If you're planning to deduct meals and mileage, make sure you're prepared in case the IRS has questions. I had a side business last year and got a letter asking for documentation on my deductions. Tried calling the IRS for weeks and couldn't get through - super stressful. I finally used https://claimyr.com to get through to an actual IRS agent within 45 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The agent walked me through exactly what documentation I needed to support my meal and mileage deductions, and it saved my deductions from being rejected. Definitely worth knowing about if you ever get correspondence from the IRS about your business expenses.

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Oliver Wagner

•8M

The service works by holding your place in the IRS phone queue so you don't have to. They call you back when they reach an agent so you don't waste hours listening to hold music. I tried calling directly multiple times and gave up after waiting 2+ hours each time. It's definitely not a scam - I was skeptical too until I tried it. It's not just an auto-dialer; they navigate the IRS phone tree and get you to the right department based on your specific tax situation. I spent days trying to be "persistent" and never got through. When I used Claimyr, I was talking to an actual IRS agent about my specific case the same day.

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Javier Mendoza

•8M

I need to eat my words about Claimyr from my previous comment. After another frustrating week of trying to reach the IRS about my mileage deduction questions, I broke down and tried the service. I'm shocked to admit it actually worked. Got a call back in about 40 minutes and spoke with an IRS agent who clarified exactly what documentation I needed for my mileage log. The agent confirmed I can use the standard mileage rate even though I claimed actual expenses in previous years (something I wasn't sure about). They also explained that I need to retain both my mileage log AND gas receipts even when using the standard rate, which I hadn't been doing. Probably saved me from a potential audit headache.

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Emma Thompson

•8M

One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you're doing consulting work, don't forget about the home office deduction! If you have a dedicated space in your home that you use regularly and exclusively for your business, you can deduct that portion of your home expenses. This includes part of your mortgage/rent, utilities, internet, etc. You can also deduct office supplies, software subscriptions, and other business expenses beyond just meals and mileage. All these little things add up!

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Emma Thompson

•8M

The "exclusively" requirement is pretty strict in the eyes of the IRS. If you use your desk area solely for business but it's in a room that occasionally serves as a guest bedroom, you might have an issue claiming the entire room. However, you could potentially claim the specific portion of the room that's used exclusively for business. A safer approach would be to clearly partition the business area from the rest of the room using dividers or bookshelves to create a distinct workspace. Take photos of this setup for your records. Some tax professionals also suggest measuring the square footage of just your dedicated work area rather than the entire room to calculate a more defensible deduction.

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