On Fri 27.10.2017, the ATO issued an Addendum to Taxation Determination TD 2017/19. This Determination sets out the reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2017-18 income year.
The Addendum replaces the reasonable daily amount for employee truck drivers for meals ($55.30) with 3 separate amounts for breakfast ($24.25), lunch ($27.65) and dinner ($47.70). The Addendum emphasises that the 3 amounts cannot be aggregated into a single daily amount because some of these meals may not have been consumed in the course of work travel. Further, amounts cannot be moved from one meal to another. The Addendum states that truck drivers can use their work diary (as maintained for fatigue management purposes) to demonstrate when they take meal breaks.
The ATO says it will ensure that employee truck drivers are not disadvantaged if they follow the daily amount approach published in the original Determination.
DATE OF EFFECT: 1 July 2017.
[ATO website: Guidance to truck drivers; LTN 206, 27/10/17; TM Oct 2017]
Extract from the ATO guidance to truck drivers
Claiming up to the reasonable amount per meal
You can claim a deduction for the full amount of your meal and incidental expenses without keeping all your records if:
- you receive a travel allowance that could reasonably be expected to cover your meals when travelling (a token amount you receive as a travel allowance is not accepted as reasonably covering such costs)
- you claim up to the reasonable allowance amount.
However, we may ask you to explain how you worked out the amount you claimed. To do this, you need to keep the following records:
- payment summary or payslips to show the travel allowances you received
- work diary, or other fatigue documentation which shows the days you travelled for work including start and finish times, where you travelled to, and when you stopped for meals
- written evidence to show that you were the one who spent the money. You don’t need a receipt, but you need written evidence, such as bank statements to show you spent the money. If you travel the same route regularly, and have a regular pattern of expenditure, we accept written evidence for a three-month representative period.