Overtime Meal Expenses and Allowances

Employees who ever find themselves working paid overtime and have to buy a meal during this time may be eligible to claim overtime meal expenses as part of their tax return. Read on to find out when you’re eligible and how to claim.

Overtime meal expenses

Overtime meal expenses, as defined by the ATO, are meals purchased and eaten by an employee during paid overtime. 

As an employee, you can sometimes claim this as a deduction because it is considered an expense incurred while earning income. 

Here is an example of when an overtime meal expense would be considered a tax deduction:

Tom has been asked by his boss to stay back an extra 2 hours on top of his normal 8-hour shift. As part of this overtime, he is given an extra meal break and purchases dinner, which costs him $25. He eats this meal during his designated meal break and will, therefore, be eligible to claim the full $25 as a tax deduction when he files his return.

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Reasons you can’t claim overtime meal expenses

A few scenarios would prevent you from claiming overtime meal expenses. 

These are:

• You already receive an amount in your normal salary through your employer to purchase meals
• You don’t actually pay for the meal yourself (e.g. your employer buys your food)
• You eat the meal after you’ve finished your shift. The food must be eaten during work hours.

Reasonable claim amounts 

As an employee, you are allowed to claim a set reasonable amount for meal expenses. 

• For the 2023-24 financial year, that amount was set as $35.65. 
• For the 2024-25 financial year, that amount has been increased slightly to $37.65.

This is the maximum amount that employees can claim per overtime meal.

For example, if Aisha were working overtime and spent $42.50 on her meal, she would still only be eligible to claim $37.65 of that meal as an overtime meal expense, leaving her with $4.85 ineligible for claiming.

Overtime meal expenses for truck drivers

If you’re a truck driver, you have a slightly different set of rules for your overtime meal expenses. This is due to the often complex nature of your roster,

The 2023-24 reasonable claim amounts for truck drivers are set at:

• Breakfast $28.75
• Lunch $32.80
• Dinner $56.60

The 2024-25 reasonable claim amounts for truck drivers have been increased to:

• Breakfast $30.35
• Lunch $34.65
• Dinner $59.75

You cannot accumulate these amounts into a single daily figure. You also cannot carry them over from one meal to another if they have not been spent (eg a skipped meal).

Truck drivers must also keep a driver’s work diary to demonstrate when the meal breaks were taken. These logs must reflect that the claimed amounts correlate with your driver’s shift times and meal breaks.

Overtime meal allowances

Employees are sometimes paid an overtime meal allowance. This is an amount your employer pays to reasonably cover the cost of any food or drink you consume during paid overtime.

Employees usually receive this as part of an industrial award or enterprise bargaining agreement, and it is taxed. 

If you are paid a separate overtime meal allowance as a part of an industrial award (i.e. it is not folded into your normal salary), you are still eligible to claim overtime meal expenses as a tax deduction.

If you are paid an agreed-upon extra amount on top of your hourly salary to account for any overtime or associated overtime expenses (i.e., it is a part of your regular salary), this is not considered an overtime meal allowance. It is taxed as income, but because you are already being compensated and, therefore, not claiming a specific overtime pay, you are not usually allowed to claim any overtime meal expenses on your tax. 

The rules around paid overtime meal allowances and their relationship to claiming overtime meal expenses can be a little confusing, so if you’re not sure, it’s always wise to check with a qualified tax accountant.

Record keeping

There are a few scenarios where record-keeping may not be required. 

These include:

• You have received an overtime meal allowance from your employer
• Your overtime meal expense is deductible - this means you must incur the expense, not just that you received an allowance
• The amount you are claiming is within the reasonable amounts specified above

Employees, however, are still expected to be able to show the ATO that they incurred the cost and that they’re entitled to claim it, so keeping written evidence for your overtime meal expenses is highly recommended and is a great way of keeping yourself protected in the instance of a tax audit. 

The best source of evidence is receipts from wherever you purchase your meals during overtime. Ensure that the receipt includes details like the name of the supplier, the cost of the food and the date the expense was incurred.

Any overtime meal allowances paid by your employer should appear as a separate amount on your PAYG statements, but if you’re concerned, you can also keep a diary of any overtime hours worked.