Tax question(meal reimbursement)
 

My wife is an ER nurse who works 12 hour shifts and is not allowed to leave the hospital for lunch. Two of her coworkers claim that you can deduct meals on your taxes because they are not allowed to leave. These 2 use separate tax preparers and have deducted meals for years. I can find no law that even is remotely close to allowing this type of deduction. The meals are NOT business oriented. The nurses sit in a break room, 10 feet from the ER and read or watch television.

Anyone deduct meal expenses while being required to stay at your work site? Or has anyone even heard of something like this?

No, I don't think that's a legal deduction. If they were required to purchase lunch as a condition of their job and weren't reimbursed for it, that's probably a legal deduction... but those other nurses could just as easily bring their lunch as buy it at the hospital.

I think as long as they don't eat bacon or tater tots they can do that ;)

What's TurboTax say?

its probably a small enough amount that they're able to get away with it, im sure your wife could too, maybe they claim they discuss business during their lunch :rolleyes: ...make sure she deducts the uniform care though

I honestly don't know the answer to this one. Though I could point you in a direction to do some research. Check into 2% misc. itemized deductions on schedule A - the same place you deduct uniforms and tax prep fees.

Would it matter if the employee is exempt or non-exempt?

I'm thinking there may be rules and/or exceptions for non-exempt employees required to be at their work stations for longer than 8 hours.

IIRC - The tax laws allow you to receive an untaxed stipend from your employer if you are required to stay on the organization's premisis during the work day do to the nature of the job performed in your wife's case, since she is a nurse)

Since the employer is not paying them a stipend, she really wouldn't qualify for any tax deduction for lunch meals.

It does not matter whether the employee is exempt or not exempt

I can not speak towards the particulars regarding lunch being allowable in this case, however...

Allowable direct expenses such as these are routinely paid to the employee without any taxes removed from them. The recipent is not required to report them as income.

Further, it is my understanding that non-reimbursed costs associated with valid employee expenditures (the best example I can give is an employee that has a company issued vehicle, but is not compensated for the gas utilized in the performance of his job) are tax deductible

If the tax law allows allows for an untaxed stipend, and you do not receive one, I believe you would still be entitled to a deduction, presumably backed up by receipts.