Meal Expenses and Tax Deductibility in France 2026: Employees, TNS and Liberal Professionals

Updated 3 December 2025. Meal expenses incurred in a professional context follow distinct tax and social rules depending on whether you are an employee, a salaried director, a self-employed worker (TNS), or a liberal professional under BNC. The most frequent error observed at Cabinet Hayot Expertise in Parisian client files is treating all restaurant receipts as fully deductible charges without distinguishing the nature of the expense: solo meal, client meal, or away-from-home meal on a business trip. The consequence can be an URSSAF reassessment on allowances or a partial rejection during a tax audit. This guide sets out the rules applicable in 2026, the reference scales, and the practical checkpoints you need to monitor.

Employees and social exemption under Article 81 of the CGI#

For employees, the social treatment of meal expenses is governed by Article 81 of the French Tax Code (CGI) and by the URSSAF scale of flat-rate professional expense allowances, updated each year by ministerial circular. These allowances are exempt from social contributions up to the scale limits, making them a tax-neutral form of compensation in kind for the employee.

The amounts of these allowances (meals at a restaurant, meals away from company premises, meals at the workplace) are revised every year by URSSAF: refer to the scale for the year of the expense.

TNS directors and deductibility under Article 154 bis and BOFiP#

For self-employed directors -- majority managing directors of an SARL, sole traders (EI), partners in an SNC -- meal expenses are treated within the BIC framework (company income statement). Article 154 bis of the CGI governs the deductibility of mandatory social contributions, but the deductibility of meal expenses is documented in the BOFiP, specifically at BOI-BNC-BASE-40-60-60, whose values also apply under BIC.

The principle accepted by the French tax authority: only the portion exceeding the cost of a home meal is deductible. The value of a meal taken at home is set every year by the tax authority: EUR 5.50 including VAT per meal in 2026.

In practice, if a TNS director pays EUR 18 including VAT for lunch, the deductible charge is EUR 18 minus EUR 5.50, i.e. EUR 12.50. The home portion of EUR 5.50 is treated as a personal expense.

An upper ceiling also applies: the limit above which a meal expense is considered excessive is set at EUR 21.40 including VAT per meal in 2026. The deductible portion per meal is therefore at most EUR 15.90.

Liberal professionals under BNC and Article 93 of the CGI#

Liberal professionals (lawyers, consultants, architects, graphic designers, experts, doctors under BNC on Form 2035) fall under Article 93 of the CGI. The logic is identical to that for TNS directors under BIC: meal expenses are deductible within the same limits set out in BOFiP BOI-BNC-BASE-40-60-60 -- the portion above the home meal allowance and up to the standard external meal ceiling.

The tax authority accepts the deduction of meals taken in connection with professional appointments (clients, suppliers, partners), trips to clients outside the usual place of business, or professional training meals. It rejects meals taken at the usual place of work or without documented professional justification.

This point is regularly misunderstood in the files handled by Cabinet Hayot Expertise in Paris. A director or liberal professional who has lunch alone at a restaurant steps from their office, at their usual place of work, cannot deduct that meal as a professional expense -- even if they are working through files during lunch.

The doctrinal reason: food expenditure is treated as a private personal charge by nature. The exception accepted by the tax authority (deduction of the portion above the home meal allowance) only applies when the professional is compelled to take their meal away from home by the requirements of their business, not when they simply choose to eat out for convenience.

The distance criterion and the first 3 months at full rate#

For employees, the long-distance travel regime applies when the employee is on a trip more than 50 km from their home (or when public transport does not allow them to get home before 9 pm). Meal and accommodation expenses are exempt at the full flat-rate scale for the first 3 months of the trip, with a tapering mechanism thereafter:

• Months 4 to 24: amount reduced to 65% of the initial scale rate
• Months 25 to 72: amount reduced to 50% of the initial scale rate

This tapering is frequently overlooked when a long site assignment or a multi-month mission is set up. It can generate a contribution reassessment if expense claims are reimbursed at the full rate beyond the first 3 months.

Documents required for long-distance travel claims#

The exemption of long-distance travel allowances is conditional on demonstrating that the trip actually prevents the employee from returning home. In practice, documents to retain are: travel order, signed travel sheets, transport receipts (train or plane tickets, or mileage log), and accommodation invoices. A flat-rate allowance paid without supporting documents will be reintegrated into the contribution base.

Meals with clients, suppliers, partners, or prospects are entertainment expenses within the meaning of Article 39-1 of the CGI. Unlike business trip meals governed by a flat-rate scale, entertainment expenses are deductible in full provided that:

1. The expense is real and paid for (invoice in the company's or professional's name)
2. It is incurred in the direct interest of the professional or commercial activity
3. The commercial purpose and attendees are identified (internal expense note or annotation on the invoice)
4. The amount is reasonable relative to the activity

There is no legally imposed monetary ceiling on business entertainment meals. However, the tax authority may reclassify a manifestly excessive expense as a benefit in kind or a liberality if the relationship between the cost and the commercial interest is not credible. At Cabinet Hayot Expertise, we advise systematically documenting purposes and attendees for meals exceeding EUR 80 per person.

The 2026 exemption limit#

The employer contribution to meal vouchers is exempt from social contributions and income tax for the employee, subject to two cumulative conditions:

• The employer's participation is between 50% and 60% of the face value of the voucher
• This participation does not exceed the exemption limit, set at EUR 7.32 per voucher in 2026

A face value of EUR 14.64 with an employer contribution of EUR 7.32 (50%) therefore allows full exemption in 2026. If the employer contributes EUR 8 on a EUR 14 voucher, the excess of EUR 0.68 per voucher is reintegrated into the contribution base.

Digital meal cards (Swile, Pluxee, Edenred)#

Dematerialised meal cards (Swile, Pluxee formerly Sodexo, Edenred, Bimpli) are subject to exactly the same regime as paper vouchers. Dematerialisation changes neither the exemption ceiling nor the face value capping rules. An employer switching from paper vouchers to a digital card without reviewing the parameters (face value, employer share) retains the same tax and social outcome.

Note: daily expenditure payable by meal card is capped at twice the face value of the voucher per day. This ceiling is enforced electronically by the issuer but can create operational friction in businesses with employees on assignment incurring a single high-value lunch.

Accounts 6251 and 6256: travel and missions#

Meal allowances and restaurant bills incurred in connection with a professional trip (visit to a client, out-of-town assignment, offsite training) are posted to account 6251 - Travel or 6256 - Missions. These accounts cover expenses incurred in connection with a geographical displacement.

Account 6257: receptions#

Commercial meal expenses -- client lunches, partnership dinners, prospecting meals -- are posted to account 6257 - Receptions (account 6234 is reserved for gifts to customers). The distinction matters: beyond a certain amount, these expenses must be separately disclosed in the general expenses schedule (Form 2067 for legal entities). Confusing the two accounts impairs the readability of the tax return package and can attract additional scrutiny during a review.

VAT on these restaurant bills follows its own rule, often overlooked: since the 1979 finance act, it is recoverable by VAT-registered businesses under three cumulative conditions: an invoice issued in the company's name (not the director's personal name), VAT shown as a separate line, and a documented business purpose. The rate applicable to restaurant meals is 10%.

Recoverable VAT on professional meals#

VAT on professional meals is recoverable if the following conditions are met: the invoice is issued in the name of the company or professional, it separately states the VAT, and the expense is incurred in the interest of a VAT-taxable activity. A client entertainment lunch is eligible for VAT recovery if the invoice is nominative. A personal meal is not.

Trade-off: business trip or entertainment?#

The distinction between trip expenses (accounts 6251 and 6256, URSSAF scale for employees) and reception expenses (account 6257, full deductibility on documented justification) is the most frequent source of friction in expense claims at Parisian SMEs and liberal professionals. Our operational recommendation: each restaurant expense claim should include two lines of context -- "lunch on a business trip to client Dupont in Lyon, 12 March 2026" or "business lunch with prospect Martin, 58 rue de Monceau, Paris 8, 15 March 2026". These two lines are enough to determine the correct account and secure the supporting document in the event of a review.

The underestimated risk: flat-rate allowances without supporting documents#

In many files of liberal professionals or TNS directors, meal expenses are paid as a monthly flat-rate bank transfer or a lump-sum expense note without individual supporting documents. This practice is risky on two counts: (1) on the social side, URSSAF can reintegrate allowances paid without supporting documents into the contribution base; (2) on the tax side, the administration can reject charges without probative documents. The basic rule is straightforward: one nominative invoice per meal, archived in the expense management tool.

Common scenario: a salesperson in a Paris SME#

A salesperson employed by a Parisian SME, paid EUR 60,000 gross annually, incurs on average EUR 200 of client lunches per month, or EUR 2,400 per year. These expenses are reimbursed by the employer against expense claims with nominative invoices. Treatment: the EUR 2,400 is posted to the employer's account 6257, VAT is recoverable on the invoices, and the reimbursement is exempt from contributions for the employee as it involves actual expenses with supporting receipts (outside the flat-rate regime). The recoverable VAT represents approximately EUR 400 depending on rates and establishments -- a meaningful gain over a year.

Common scenario: a freelance graphic designer under BNC#

A self-employed graphic designer in Paris generates EUR 80,000 in BNC revenue. They incur EUR 1,500 of professional lunches per year (client appointments, agency briefings, prospecting lunches). Under BNC rules (BOI-BNC-BASE-40-60-60), the deductible portion is calculated by subtracting the value of a meal taken at home (EUR 5.50 x number of documented meals, i.e. EUR 5.50 x 100 meals = EUR 550). The net deductible charge would therefore be approximately EUR 1,500 minus EUR 550, i.e. EUR 950, each meal staying below the EUR 21.40 limit including VAT. The remaining EUR 550 is treated as a private expense. The deduction is therefore neither total nor nil -- it requires a meal-by-meal calculation to be accurate.

• URSSAF scales for employees' meal allowances are revised every year: refer to the scale for the year of the expense.
• The exemption limit for the employer contribution to meal vouchers is EUR 7.32 per voucher in 2026.
• Form 2067 for the general expenses schedule (entertainment expenses section) must be completed carefully: any discrepancy between account 6257 and the form can trigger a request for additional supporting documents.
• The mandatory electronic invoicing rollout (progressive deployment since 2026) makes it easier to track nominative invoices. Firms equipped with compliant invoice and expense management tools can already automate the 6251/6257 allocation and VAT recovery.

During accounting audits, three grounds for rejection come up again and again: restaurant bills with no stated business purpose and no guest names, amounts disproportionate to the size and sector of the business, and meals between members of the same family with no established commercial justification. The best defence remains documentation built at the time of the expense, never reconstructed after the fact.

For further guidance on expense claim management, payroll, and professional expense reimbursements, the payroll and HR management service at Cabinet Hayot Expertise covers operational implementation for Parisian SMEs and liberal professionals. For questions on tax deductibility and the annual tax return package, our tax advisory team at Cabinet Hayot Expertise Paris handles the arbitration and risk mitigation.