Part of The trucking guide
Meals on the road: what long-haul drivers can claim
Long-haul truck drivers can deduct 80% of their meals on the road, compared with 50% for most people. Here's who qualifies, how employed drivers and owner-operators each claim it, and the records that hold up if the CRA asks.
Key takeaways
- Long-haul truck drivers can deduct 80% of eligible meal costs; most other business meals are limited to 50%
- You must be away from your home area for at least 24 hours, driving a truck over 11,788 kg carrying goods beyond 160 km
- Employed drivers claim on Form TL2 with their employer's sign-off; owner-operators claim on their business return
Most people who deduct business meals can only claim 50% of the cost. Long-haul truck drivers can claim 80%. On a year of meals on the road, that difference adds up to real money. But only if you qualify for each trip and can prove it.
This article is part of our guide to the financial side of running a trucking company.
Who qualifies
The 80% rule applies to meals you buy during an eligible travel period as a long-haul truck driver. Under the Income Tax Act:
- Long-haul truck: a truck or tractor designed for hauling freight, with a gross vehicle weight rating over 11,788 kg.
- Long-haul truck driver: someone whose main job or main business is driving a long-haul truck that carries goods.
- Eligible travel period: you're away from the municipality or metropolitan area where you live for at least 24 hours in a row, driving a long-haul truck that carries goods to or from places beyond 160 km of home.
All three must be true. Some examples:
| Situation | 80%? |
|---|---|
| A Red Deer driver runs a loaded tractor-trailer to Winnipeg and back over four days | Yes |
| A driver does day trips from Edmonton to Calgary and sleeps at home each night | No. Never away 24 hours |
| A driver is away three days in a one-tonne pickup hauling a hotshot trailer under 11,788 kg | No. The truck doesn't meet the weight test |
| A fleet owner who mostly runs the office does one long run a month | Probably not. Driving isn't their main job |
Meals that don't qualify for 80% may still be deductible at 50% if they're a legitimate business expense.
Employed drivers: claiming with Form TL2
If you're an employee, you claim meals on your personal tax return using Form TL2, Claim for Meals and Lodging Expenses. Your employer completes part of the form to confirm the conditions of your job. You can only claim what your employer doesn't reimburse you for.
Two ways to work out the amount
1. Actual receipts. Keep every receipt and claim 80% of the total.
2. The simplified method. Instead of receipts, claim a flat rate per meal. For 2025 the CRA's rate was $23 per meal, up to $69 a day (sales tax included). The CRA publishes the rate each year, so check it for the year you're filing. You still need a record of each trip: dates, times and places. Your logbook or ELD records usually cover this.
Example: a ten-day run
Marie, an employed driver from Leduc, does a ten-day run to Ontario and back. She's away from home the whole time and eats three meals a day on the road, about 30 meals in all. Her employer doesn't pay a meal allowance.
Using the simplified method at the 2025 rate: 30 meals × $23 = $690 of meal costs. At 80%, she can deduct $552 for that trip.
If she did 20 similar trips in a year, that's about $11,000 in deductions. At 50% it would have been about $6,900.
When your employer pays an allowance
If your employer pays a per-diem or meal allowance, your claim depends on how much of it is taxable and on what you actually spent beyond it. Per-diem rules for employers are covered in paying drivers. Talk to us before claiming meals on top of an allowance.
Owner-operators: claiming on your business return
If you're a self-employed owner-operator, or your corporation pays for the meals, the 80% limit applies to meals bought during eligible travel periods, using the same definitions. The claim goes on your business income statement (or the corporation's return), not on a TL2.
Keep your receipts. The CRA's guide for self-employed people doesn't clearly say whether owner-operators can use the flat-rate simplified method. Until that's confirmed for your situation, actual receipts are the safe choice. A receipt app or a photo of each receipt, attached in your bookkeeping, makes this painless.
Example: owner-operator, incorporated
Dave's corporation pays for his meals on the road: $9,600 in receipts over the year, all during qualifying trips. At 80%, the corporation deducts $7,680. At 50% it would have been $4,800.
Whether it's smarter to have the corporation pay for meals or to pay them yourself and claim personally depends on how you're set up. See should an owner-operator incorporate?
Records that hold up
If the CRA reviews your meal claim, it will ask two questions: were you really away, and did you really spend it?
Keep:
- Trip records: dates, departure and return times, destinations, unit number. ELD records, logbooks and dispatch sheets all work.
- Receipts, or a meal log if you're using the simplified method.
- For employees: the signed TL2.
- Proof of the truck's weight rating (the registration shows it).
These are mostly the same trip records you keep for IFTA. Keep them once, and use them for both.
The bottom line
The 80% meal rule is one of the few tax breaks written specifically for truckers, and it's often under-claimed. If you'd like us to check you're claiming the right amount on your return, or to set up meal records in your bookkeeping, get in touch.
Sources
This article is general information, not advice for your situation. Rules and rates change, so talk to us before acting on it.