Beginning in 2018, the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made stricter limitations on the deductibility of meals and entertainment expenses.

Specifically: 

1) Office Holiday Parties-will still be 100% deductible. 

2) Deminimis Fringe benefit type expenses (expenses for coffee, soft drinks, flowers, snacks, occasional lunch, etc.) will now be limited to a 50% deductibility threshold. Previously, these were 100%.

3) Meals and Entertainment - the Entertainment portion is no longer deductible. 

4) Meals and Entertainment - the Meals portion is still 50% deductible. 

5) Business Travel meals are still 50% deductible. 

With the elimination of deducting entertainment expenses, businesses that do a lot of entertaining may want to start rethinking those season ticket purchases for sporting events or golf club memberships. Along those lines, changes will also need to be made in their general ledger and accounting software programs to break out these expenses for tax purposes. 

The Act makes numerous changes to the way businesses and individuals are taxed. Don’t wait until the end of the year to do tax planning. By then, it may be too late to fully implement meaningful changes. Talk to one of our professionals now and have a game plan for 2018 and beyond.