Updated November 6, 2026. Quick answer: The Reimbursement Allocation Worksheet in the 2025 Instructions for Form 2106 splits one employer payment that covers meals and other business expenses into the two amounts line 7 needs. You divide your meal expenses by your total expenses to get a decimal, multiply the reimbursement by it for column B, and the rest of the reimbursement goes in column A.
What the worksheet does
The 2025 Form 2106 instructions say “If your employer paid you a single amount that covers meals as well as other business expenses, you must allocate the reimbursement so that you know how much to enter in column A and column B of line 7.” The worksheet that follows is labelled “(keep for your records)”, so you keep it with your records.
Form 2106 itself is narrow now. The instructions say “Form 2106 may be used only by Armed Forces reservists, qualified performing artists, fee-basis state or local government officials, and employees with impairment-related work expenses because of the elimination of miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% floor under section 67(a) by section 67(h).” See who can still use Form 2106 before you start.
Reimbursement Allocation Worksheet, line by line
These are the six lines as the instructions print them.
| Line | What the IRS prints |
|---|---|
| 1 | “Enter the total amount of reimbursements your employer gave you that weren’t reported to you in Form W-2, box 1” |
| 2 | “Enter the total amount of your expenses for the periods covered by this reimbursement” |
| 3 | “Enter the part of the amount on line 2 that was your total expense for meals” |
| 4 | “Divide line 3 by line 2. Enter the result as a decimal (rounded to three places)” |
| 5 | “Multiply line 1 by line 4. Enter the result here and in column B, line 7” |
| 6 | “Subtract line 5 from line 1. Enter the result here and in column A, line 7” |
What counts as a reimbursement for line 1
The instructions for line 7 say “Enter reimbursements received from your employer (or third party) for expenses shown in Step 1; include reimbursements reported in Form W-2, Box 12, code L. Do not include amounts reported in Form W-2, Box 1.” The worksheet is consistent with that: its line 1 counts only amounts “that weren’t reported to you in Form W-2, box 1”.
The instructions also describe what accounting to your employer means: “you gave your employer documentary evidence in the form of a statement of expense, account book, diary, log, statement of expenses, trip sheets, or similar statement to verify the amount, time, place, and business purpose of each expense.”
An illustration with invented numbers
The IRS prints no filled-in example for this worksheet. This illustration is this page’s own: an employer paid $2,000 in one amount, the expenses for the periods it covered were $3,000, and $700 of those were meals. Every result is computed here, using the rounding to three places that line 4 calls for.
| Line | Entry | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reimbursements not reported in Form W-2, box 1 | $2,000 |
| 2 | Total expenses for the periods covered | $3,000 |
| 3 | Part of line 2 that was meals | $700 |
| 4 | Line 3 divided by line 2, rounded to three places (computed) | 0.233 |
| 5 | Line 1 times line 4 (computed): enter here and in column B, line 7 | $466 |
| 6 | Line 1 minus line 5 (computed): enter here and in column A, line 7 | $1,534 |
Computed from those lines: $700 divided by $3,000 is 0.2333, which rounds to 0.233; $2,000 times 0.233 is $466; and $2,000 minus $466 is $1,534. So $466 goes in column B of line 7 and $1,534 goes in column A, and the two add back to the $2,000 reimbursement.
What happens to the meals amount
The instructions for line 9 say “Generally, you can deduct only 50% of your business meal expenses, including meals incurred while away from home on business.” The worksheet only decides how much of the reimbursement is a meals reimbursement; the 50% limit is applied later, in Step 3 of Part I. For the rest of the form see Form 2106 employee business expenses.
Edition
Line numbers and captions belong to the Instructions for Form 2106 (2025), printed Nov 20, 2025, the edition irs.gov served on 2026-11-06.
Common mistakes
- Counting a reimbursement that was already included in box 1 of Form W-2. Worksheet line 1 is for the amounts that were not.
- Using the meals expense for the whole year instead of the expenses for the periods the reimbursement covers.
- Leaving out the rounding to three places that line 4 calls for, which shifts the split slightly.
- Swapping the columns: the meals share (line 5) goes in column B and the rest (line 6) goes in column A.
- Using the worksheet when Form 2106 is not available to you. Check who can still file it first.
Related: Form 2106 employee business expenses, who can still use Form 2106, and Publication 463.
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Answer againSources
- Instructions for Form 2106 (2025), Employee Business Expenses: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i2106.pdf
- IRS, About Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-2106
Read from the IRS documents linked above on November 6, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.