Recipe
Split a team meal and deduct it in full
Hosting only your own employees — no external guest at the table — makes the cost 100% deductible instead of just 70%. The Bewirtungsbeleg documents exactly that, straight from the bill split.
Last reviewed: September 2026
A managing director taking the team out after finishing a project is hosting exclusively their own employees — no clients, no external business partners. That distinction matters for tax purposes: entertaining external people is only 70% deductible, while a purely internal team meal is 100% deductible as a business expense. The record has to document that distinction, not just the names of the people present.
Step-by-step
- 1
Split the team meal as usual
Add the bill and add every colleague as a participant of the split, the same way you would for any other shared meal in the group.
- 2
Choose "internal" as the entertainment type
Because only your own employees were hosted, mark the meal "internal." That sets the rate to 100% instead of the 70% that would apply if even one external person were present.
- 3
State a specific occasion anyway
Internal entertainment still needs a specific occasion — e.g., "team meal after closing Project X" rather than a generic entry like "staff meal."
- 4
Sign the record
The signed record shows the full amount as deductible, with no non-deductible portion — unlike the 70/30 split that applies to external entertainment.
Why 100% instead of 70%
The 70/30 rule in § 4 Abs. 5 Nr. 2 EStG applies to entertaining people outside your own company. When only your own employees are at the table, that limit doesn't apply — the cost is deductible in full as a business expense. As soon as even one external person joins, the 70% cap applies to the whole meal.
The participants are already known from the split
For a team meal, your colleagues' names are already part of the bill split — the one required field a restaurant receipt never has doesn't need separate entry.
Frequently asked questions
Is a team meal with only my own employees 100% deductible?▾
Yes, as long as only your own employees are hosted with no external people present. As soon as even one external guest joins, the whole meal falls under the 70% cap in § 4 Abs. 5 Nr. 2 EStG.
Do I still need to state an occasion for an employees-only meal?▾
Yes. Even for internal entertainment, the tax office requires a specific occasion, not a generic entry like "staff meal" with no further context.
What if an external guest joins unexpectedly?▾
Then it's no longer purely internal entertainment, and the 70% rate applies to the whole bill — the entertainment type should be recorded as "external" instead.
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