# Deduct business meals from tax
Source: https://norman.finance/de/en/deductibles/meals

**For new accounts:** 75% off your first 3 months. No credit card needed. Create an account: https://app.norman.finance/sign-up?utm_source=ai_markdown&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=en-deductibles-meals

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Business meals are 70% deductible when the entertainment receipt is correct. Norman captures the occasion, attendees, and amount and files the receipt.

## Deduct business meals correctly

From the EÜR to VAT returns to income tax: Norman prepares, reviews, and submits everything directly to the tax office.

- **Automated EÜR preparation:** Norman maintains your income-expenditure report continuously and prepares it automatically at year-end.
- **Deductions you'd otherwise miss:** Norman's AI checks every expense for deductibility. No deduction slips through anymore.
- **Income tax declaration:** Norman pre-fills your income tax declaration with data from your ongoing bookkeeping.
- **ELSTER submission included:** Submit your tax declarations directly from Norman to the tax office, no extra software needed.
- **Live tax estimates:** See at any time how much tax is coming your way and plan ahead with real-time data.

## What Norman takes off your month-end

Norman reduces recurring finance work before receipts, VAT, and deadlines become a problem.

- 8 hours: sorting receipts each month
- 5 tools: to keep in sync
- Tax stress: before every deadline

## Norman instead of manual finance routine

Receipts, invoices, tax data, and advisor handoff work together instead of splitting across five tools.

|  | Norman | Manual without Norman |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Receipts | Captured and categorized as they arrive | Pile up in your inbox and shoeboxes |
| Client invoices | One workflow with automatic reminders | Word template and manual sending |
| EÜR & VAT returns | Prepared from live data | Built in spreadsheets at deadline |
| Advisor handoff | One login, structured data | ZIP via email and follow-ups |

## Plans that grow with your workflow

Start free and unlock tax, team, and automation features when you need them.

### Self-employed (Freelancers & sole traders)

- **Free**: Core accounting features. €0.
  - Unlimited e-invoicing
  - Tax write-off tips
  - AI Autopilot
  - Connect to ChatGPT & Claude
  - Receipt scanning (OCR)
  - Norman AI usage limits
- **Klein**: For Kleinunternehmer. Monthly: €12/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €9/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €3/month (excl. VAT), then €12.
  - Bank sync
  - Annual tax declarations (EÜR)
  - Personal income tax
  - Declare salary as an employee
  - EU revenue reports (ZM)
  - Higher Norman AI limits
- **Pro**: For self-employed charging VAT. Monthly: €28/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €21/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €7/month (excl. VAT), then €28.
  - VAT returns
  - All tax declarations
  - Tax efficiency score
  - Receipt auto-matching
  - Up to 5 bank accounts synced
  - Maximum Norman AI limits

### Companies (UGs & GmbHs)

- **Free**: Invoicing and bookkeeping. €0.
  - Complete double-entry bookkeeping
  - AI Autopilot
  - Unlimited e-invoicing
  - Bank sync (1 account)
  - Norman AI usage limits
- **Pro**: Reports, insights, and advisor tools. Monthly: €12/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €9/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €3/month (excl. VAT), then €12.
  - BWA & financial reports
  - DATEV export
  - Tax advisor access
  - Multi-user access
  - Higher Norman AI limits
- **Max**: Annual accounts and every tax filing. Monthly: €52/month (excl. VAT). Yearly: €39/month (excl. VAT). -75% for 3 months: €13/month (excl. VAT), then €52.
  - UStVA & ZM filing
  - Corporate & trade tax
  - Annual accounts with E-Bilanz
  - Bank sync (5 accounts)
  - Maximum Norman AI limits

**Capture business meals with Norman:** Start for free and record client meals correctly. [Start for free](https://app.norman.finance/sign-up)

## FAQ

### What percentage of business meals is deductible?

70 % of reasonable costs for entertaining business partners. The remaining 30 % has to be recorded as a non-deductible business expense so that it does not reduce your profit.

### Can I still reclaim the full input VAT?

Yes. The reduction to 70 % applies to income tax only. For VAT purposes, input tax on the entire invoice amount is deductible, provided the receipt meets the formal requirements.

### What has to appear on the entertainment receipt?

The place, date, specific occasion, and the names of everyone present, including yourself. For restaurants you also need the machine-generated bill; from €250 gross it must be made out in your name.

### Does the 70 % rule also apply to my own employees?

No. Entertaining only your own staff, for instance at an internal meeting, is 100 % deductible. As soon as business partners join, the 70 % rule applies to the whole bill.

## Related pages

- [Tax deductibles](https://norman.finance/de/en/deductibles): Overview of deductible costs for the self-employed, from equipment and home office to travel. Norman captures receipts with AI and categorizes them automatically.
- [Taxes](https://norman.finance/de/en/taxes): Norman builds tax data from live bookkeeping so EÜR, VAT returns, and ELSTER-ready workflows do not start right before the deadline.
- [Deduct groceries](https://norman.finance/de/en/deductibles/groceries): When food and meals are deductible and when not: Norman cleanly separates private and business expenses.