Salesmans edible gifts

[carolynm]

I"m doing a return for a traveling salesman. He often brings his clients coffee/donuts/cookies as treats. Would you consider this as gifts? Or meals.

[Pacun]

I"m doing a return for a traveling salesman. He often brings his clients coffee/donuts/cookies as treats. Would you consider this as gifts? Or meals.

I would go with gifts, but then, they are not your clients. Some of them are potential clients.

[JohnH]

Could go either way, but if it's considered meals then he gets to keep deducting 1/2 even when the amount exceeds $50 per customer (if it does).

[Margaret CPA in OH]

You might suggest that in the future he have candies or such with his logo and info printed for promotional items. Sort of like the chocolate 'gold' pieces that some accountants pass out at tax time.

[kcjenkins]

If $25 or less per gift, treat them as gifts. Donuts are not a meal, no matter what my grandkids say.

[Terry D EA]

If $25 or less per gift, treat them as gifts. Donuts are not a meal, no matter what my grandkids say.

Hey I'm with the grand kids. I thought doughnuts, honey buns, little Debbie snacks... were just that, a meal. Now fifty + pounds lighter with lower risks of heart failure and clogged arteries I see it differently. Sad though, it only took me 40+ years to figure that out. Some find it odd that at 55 I can run 5 miles every other night and scale flights of steps without even breathing hard. I decided to dump the fat when I was snickering at the, let's say, large folks for laying on the railings of the steps panting like a wore out dog when I realized I was only three steps ahead of them and laying on the same rail.