Free calculator · no account
How much of this client lunch can you actually claim?
Half. ITA s.67.1 limits food, beverages and entertainment to 50% of the bill including the tip, and halves the GST/HST credit with it. PST is never recoverable.
Half of it, under s.67.1 — but half of what, exactly. The tip counts and carries no tax; PST is a cost and never a credit; a split bill is pro-rated before any of that. Enter the bill and both figures appear.
Enter the bill and the deductible half appears here, with the arithmetic behind it.
How it is worked out
Three rules, in this order.
Applied by the same engine that runs inside the app. This page is not a separate copy of them.
The share, first
If the bill was split, every line is pro-rated by your company’s share before any tax rule applies — subtotal, GST/HST, PST and tip together. Doing it in this order is what keeps the deduction and the credit both based on what your company actually bore.
The half — ITA s.67.1
50% of the amount paid for food, beverages and entertainment, tip included. The disallowed half is permanent; it is not deferred to another year. CRA: food, beverages and entertainment expenses.
The credit, on the GST/HST alone
The same 50% restriction applies to the tax, so the credit is half the GST/HST on the bill. PST is excluded entirely — it is never an input tax credit — and so is the tip, which carries no tax to begin with. This is why the credit is smaller than half the total tax you paid on a BC or Saskatchewan bill. CRA: claim input tax credits.
What this does not account for
- Staff events. An event open to all employees is 100% deductible, for up to six events a year. Counting them is a running total across the year, so it needs a record rather than a calculator — the app does it; this page does not.
- Meals rebilled to a client. If the cost is itemised on your invoice to the client, the 50% limit does not apply to you. This page assumes it does.
- Long-haul truck drivers and remote work sites. Both have their own percentages under s.67.1, and neither is applied here.
- Whether the meal is a business expense at all. A meal with a client is; a meal on your own usually is not, and the CRA will ask who you met and why. The calculator takes your word for it.
- Whether you are registered for GST/HST. The credit assumes the corporation is a registrant. If it is not, there is no input tax credit.
- Quebec. QST follows its own regime with its own restrictions on meals. Treat the credit here as GST only.
Rules as they stand for the 2026 tax year, checked against the CRA sources linked above, each on or since 14 September 2026. Section 67.1 has been amended before and could be again.
Questions
About meals and the CRA.
How much of a business meal is deductible in Canada?
Half. Section 67.1 of the Income Tax Act limits the deduction for food, beverages and entertainment to 50% of the amount paid, and the limit applies to the whole bill — the tip included, since a tip for serving a meal is part of the cost of the meal. The other half is a permanent difference, not a timing one: it is never deducted in a later year.
How much GST or HST can I claim back on a client meal?
Half of the GST/HST, matching the deduction. If the bill shows $5.00 of GST, the input tax credit is $2.50. The 50% restriction applies to the tax the same way it applies to the expense, so claiming the full amount is one of the most common overclaims on a small corporation's return.
Is PST part of the input tax credit?
No. PST and RST do not produce input tax credits. Quebec QST is administered separately and may produce an ITR for a registered business, subject to its meal restrictions and annual ceiling; it never belongs in the GST/HST credit.
Does the tip count?
It is deductible, at the same 50%, because it is part of what the meal cost. But no tax is charged on a tip, so it lifts the deduction without lifting the credit. That is why the tip belongs in its own box rather than folded into the subtotal.
We split the bill with another company. What do we claim?
Your company's share of it, less recoverable tax, and then half of that net expense. Every line is pro-rated first — subtotal, GST/HST, PST and tip alike. Keep the full receipt and note the share; a bill for $176.40 split evenly is $88.20 to you, with a $1.88 ITC and a $43.16 deduction.
Are there meals that are 100% deductible?
Yes — a staff event open to all employees is fully deductible, up to six such events a year, and meals billed on to a client and itemised on your invoice are not restricted either. Those are separate rules from the one on this page. LedgerLodge applies the six-event count for you; this calculator does not.
What does the CRA need on the receipt?
The itemised receipt, not just the card slip, and a note of who you met and why — that is what makes it a business meal rather than a personal one. To support the credit on a receipt of $100 or more you also need the supplier's GST/HST registration number, which is on the bill but almost never on the card slip. Keep it all for six years from the end of the tax year.
One lunch is arithmetic. A year of them is a record.
The figure is easy; keeping the receipt, the reason and the supplier’s registration number attached to it for six years is the hard part, and it is the part the CRA asks about. LedgerLodge does this calculation on every meal and keeps the evidence with it.