Overtime Meals & Allowances
It is not at all unusual for occasions to arise where you and your employees need to work overtime. Knowing that people are more efficient and safety conscious when they are not distracted by hunger, you, as an employer, may choose to provide a meal to your workers on those occasions (or pay them an allowance for one if they are away from the office).
As with anything you provide to your employees one of the questions you have to ask is “Is this a taxable benefit to them?”
When it comes to overtime meals, in most cases the answer will be “No” – provided it is infrequent and the cost is reasonable.
If the meal meets the following criteria there is no need to consider it as employee remuneration:
1. The value of the meal is reasonable (generally up to $17)
2. The employee works a minimum of 2 hours overtime immediately before or after his/her scheduled hours.
3. The overtime is infrequent. Generally 2 or less days a week is considered infrequent. Also, if there is a specific deadline that has to be met requiring several overtime days in a row that could qualify.
If overtime occurs on a frequent basis, or becomes the norm, the CRA will consider the overtime meal allowance to be a taxable benefit.
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