Who can claim
This deduction is available to individuals.
- You incurred and paid the expense yourself.
- The expense has a direct connection with earning your current employment income.
- You receive a separately identifiable overtime meal allowance under an award, enterprise agreement or similar industrial instrument.
- You buy a meal while working overtime.
What you cannot claim
- Do not include a private or domestic portion.
- Do not claim an item or cost your employer or another party provided, paid or reimbursed; if partly reimbursed, claim only the unreimbursed eligible portion.
- A taxable allowance is generally declared as income. It does not automatically create or prevent a deduction; claim only the actual eligible amount you incurred.
- Ordinary meals, snacks and meals during a normal working day are private.
- An allowance does not itself create a deduction; the eligible expense must be incurred.
How the amount is worked out
Declare the overtime meal allowance as income where required and claim only the actual eligible meal expenditure. The reasonable amount can remove the need for written evidence in qualifying cases, but it is not an automatic deduction and you must still be able to show how the claim was calculated.
Records the ATO expects
- Payslip or industrial instrument showing allowance
- Meal receipts or substantiation evidence
Where this rule comes from
Primary source: ATO TD 2025/4 reasonable travel and overtime meal amounts (TD 2025/4). Reviewed 30 July 2026. Covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 income years.
Supporting sources:
- ATO Employees guide for work expenses (Document version dated 5 December 2025)
- ATO TR 92/15 allowances and reimbursements (TR 92/15)