Keep all receipts and insert the total meal expenses on line 8523 at the 50% rate. The 80% calculation only applies to long haul truckers.
The meals are supposed to be for business-related purposes, not for occasions when a taxpayer take the spouse and kids out for a treat. Meeting clients either in the local community or elsewhere count as being for business purposes. There is no requirement that you can only claim when with a client; I'm just using that as an example. Being out of town or away for extended periods, or just getting caught on the other side of town while waiting for the company truck to get an oil change over lunch are properly acceptable. It can be a bit of a grey area so you have to use some judgment.
