Can I deduct personal meals as a business expense form my one person LLC?

Question

I formed an LLC for my websites that make money from google ad sense. It makes about $30,000 a year. When I have dinner with potential business clients for this LLC it's obviously a valid expense. But I also have a full time job with another company. During my lunch hour I'm allowed to work on my LLC but I need food. Can I order food delivered to the office everyday and deduct that as a valid expense for the LLC? The LLC is taxed as an S-Corp. It's a Nevada LLC but also registered as a foreign LLC in California.

Answer 1

No, you are not entertaining clients. This is personal expense.

Answer 2

Filing for an LLC has nothing to do with it. That doesn't make your expenses deductible business expenses - you don't have a business yet, from your question, just an idea that you are working on and hoping to turn into a money-maker at some point. If you did have a business up and running, you wouldn't need an LLC to be able to deduct expenses. So no you can't deduct them now, but save the records and the receipts, they might be of use to you in some future year. Good luck with your invention. Edit: your additional info changes things somewhat - not because you employed a company to help with your development work, but because you apparently ARE in business since you've sold a few items. The $10K was start-up expenses though, so they're amortized, not just all deducted in your first year.

Answer 3

No, since you are not entertaining clients then it is not a business expense. Look everyone at every job needs food to live and thereby be able to accomplish their work. So, even though if you didn't eat you would not be able to work you are still not allowed to deduct all meals.
BTW, from an accounting standpoint the meals with clients are deductible in the sense that on your GAAP (not tax) financial statements, they are a marketing expense because you are trying to sell your product to the client. In an audit you would prove this by saying that you brought samples and a presentation to the dinner. By the same logic you could charge things like sports tickets, golf expenses etc as long as it is with the potential client and is actually related to selling.