Per Diem for Self-Employed Meals: What It Replaces

Updated November 7, 2026. Quick answer: A self-employed person can use the federal meal and incidental expense (M&IE) rate for each day of business travel instead of keeping every meal receipt, but not for lodging. You still record the time, place and business purpose of the trip, the 50% limit still applies to the meal part, and lodging needs actual receipts. If you paid for no meals on a day, the incidental-expenses-only rate is $5 a day.

On deductions by profession: tax deductions for independent consultants and tax deductions for locum tenens physicians.

What Rev. Proc. 2019-48 allows the self-employed

This page reads the primary sources linked under Sources, as retrieved on November 6 and 7, 2026. Publication 463 is the 2025 edition.

The revenue procedure is written mainly for payers that reimburse employees, but it reaches the self-employed in one place: “Certain specified employees and self-employed individuals that deduct unreimbursed expenses for travel away from home may use a per diem rate for meals and incidental expenses, or incidental expenses only, under this revenue procedure.” It also states the limit: “This revenue procedure does not provide rules for using a per diem rate to substantiate the amount of lodging expenses only.” The method itself: “self-employed individuals may substantiate the amount of deductible meal expenses by using an amount computed at the federal M&IE rate for the locality of travel for each calendar day or partial day the employee or self-employed individual is traveling away from home.”

What you still have to record

The per diem replaces the meal receipts, not the trip record. The revenue procedure says the amount is deemed substantiated “provided the employee or self-employed individual substantiates the elements of time, place, and business purpose of the travel for that day or partial day in accordance with those regulations”. Publication 463 says the same: “If you use the standard meal allowance, you must still keep records to prove the time, place, and business purpose of your travel.” A travel calendar with the dates, the city and a one-line reason for each trip is the whole record. Lodging is different. The regulation lists “Any expenditure for lodging while traveling away from home” among the items that need documentary evidence, so keep the hotel receipt.

The 50% limit still applies

A per diem does not make meals fully deductible. Publication 463 says “regardless of the method you use, you can generally deduct only 50% of the unreimbursed cost of your meals.” For the per diem method the revenue procedure treats the whole amount as food and beverage: “A taxpayer must treat the entire amount computed for meal and incidental expenses under section 4.03 of this revenue procedure as an expense for food and beverages.” For the meal rules themselves, see business meals on Schedule C.

The incidental-expenses-only rate

If you pay for no meals on a day, the notice gives a smaller amount: “The rate for any CONUS or OCONUS locality of travel for the incidental expenses only deduction is $5 per day.” Publication 463 adds the condition, “You can use this method only if you didn’t pay or incur any meal expenses.” Notice 2026-60 covers the 2026-2027 special per diem rates and refers to Notice 2025-54 for the period through September 30, 2026.

Where to find the daily rate

The federal M&IE rate depends on the locality, and the GSA publishes it for the continental United States; this page prints no daily M&IE amount because none was read from a primary table. The IRS notice also publishes the special high-low rates, which Rev. Proc. 2019-48 builds for payers that reimburse; CMG’s pages on those are the 2026 high-low rates and the 2027 rates, and the general rate tables are on per diem rates 2026.

A simple trip record

One row per trip is enough:

Column	What to write	Source
Dates	First and last day away, so each full or partial day is counted	Calendar
Place	City of the trip, which sets the locality of travel	Itinerary
Purpose	Client or project the trip served	Calendar entry or email
Lodging	Hotel receipt for each night	Folio
Meals paid?	Yes or no per day, which decides M&IE or incidental-only	Your note

Common mistakes

Using a per diem for lodging. The revenue procedure gives no rule for lodging-only per diem.
Skipping the trip record because no meal receipts are needed. Time, place and purpose are still required.
Claiming the incidental-only rate on a day you bought meals.
Treating the per diem as 100% deductible. The 50% limit applies.

Sources

Read from the IRS documents linked above on November 7, 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.