A spreadsheet listing the numbers

A spreadsheet listing the numbers the taxpayer put on his return was insufficient to substantiate or use to reconstruct business expenses for meals and entertainment.

This means that even if a meal or Nike Cortez Shoes entertainment expense is perfectly legitimate, it can be disallowed if the documentation is not proper!

How to Protect Your Meals and Entertainment Expenses:

In my teachings, I dedicate an entire session to Travel, Meals and Entertainment. One of the strategies I share is how to use the IRS rules to make money on your meals and entertainment by turning your current non-deductible expenses into legal tax deductions. One of the key parts to making this strategy work is protecting your meals and entertainment deductions by keeping proper documentation.

Use this short checklist for all of your meals and entertainment expenses and your deductions will be well protected:

____ Amount of each separate expense

____ Date of expense

____ Location of expense

____ Business purpose of expense

____ Names and business relationship of the people involved

It may seem like quite a bit for each and every meal and entertainment expense, but here are a few ways to make this process very simple:

Get a receipt! The first 3 items - amount, date and location - are usually printed on the receipt. Then simply write the remaining 2 items - business purpose, names and business relationship on the receipt.

I always recommend scanning your receipts so you have an electronic copy. Many receipts tend to fade in just a year so your Nike Blazer High,documentation could disappear! A scanned copy won't fade and can help reduce the clutter of receipts.