Quick answer
You can claim business travel such as flights, trains, taxis, and accommodation when you travel away from your usual work area for business. Travel meals stay at the 50% limit. Ordinary commuting between home and your regular workplace is personal and not deductible. As a GST/HST registrant you can claim input tax credits on domestic travel, with the rate depending on the province.
Is business travel tax deductible in Canada?
Business travel is deductible; commuting is not. Travel to clients, between work locations, or to a temporary site away from your usual area is business travel, and when it takes you away overnight the accommodation is deductible too. Ordinary travel between home and your regular workplace is personal, even if you do some work on the way.
One rule trips people up: while transport and accommodation on a business trip are generally fully deductible, the meals you eat while travelling stay at the 50% meals limit. Travel does not lift food and drink out of the 50% rule. For travel in your own vehicle, use the vehicle expense method instead. See the wider Canadian expense rules for context.
How much can you claim?
You claim the actual cost of business travel, with any personal portion removed and meals kept at 50%. The GST/HST treatment depends on the province where the travel is supplied and on whether the travel is domestic or international:
| Travel type | GST/HST | Input tax credit |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic flights, trains, taxis | Province rate (5% to 15%) | Claimable |
| Accommodation in Canada | Province rate | Claimable |
| Travel meals | Province rate | 50% claimable |
| International airfare starting in Canada | Zero-rated | None |
Worked example. A consultant flies Toronto to Halifax for a three-day project: a $480 domestic return flight, $60 of taxis, and two nights of accommodation. The flight, taxis, and accommodation are deductible and the GST/HST is claimable as input tax credits. Her $120 of meals over the trip is deductible at 50% ($60), with the input tax credit also limited to 50%.
Record-keeping requirements
Keep the receipts for each travel cost, note the business purpose, and keep enough detail to apportion any personal or holiday portion. For amounts of $100 or more you need the supplier’s GST/HST number on the receipt to claim the input tax credit. A boarding pass or itinerary kept with the receipt helps show the trip was for business if the CRA reviews the claim. Records must be kept for six years.
How to claim, step by step
- Confirm the travel is for business, not ordinary commuting.
- For travel in your own vehicle, use the vehicle expense method.
- Claim the actual cost of flights, transport, and accommodation in full.
- Keep travel meals at the 50% limit.
- Claim input tax credits on the GST/HST in domestic travel; international airfare is zero-rated.
- Apportion out any personal portion and keep records for six years.
Common mistakes
- Claiming home-to-work commuting as business travel.
- Deducting travel meals at 100% instead of 50%.
- Trying to claim an input tax credit on a zero-rated international airfare.
- Charging the wrong province’s tax rate on travel and over-claiming the credit.
- Failing to apportion a trip that mixed business with a holiday.
Software that helps
Travel receipts arrive across flights, apps, and paper, and each province’s tax rate has to be applied correctly.
- TravelPerk books and itemises business trips and feeds the spend into the ledger.
- ExpenseFlow captures flight, taxi, and accommodation receipts, applies the correct provincial GST/HST treatment, keeps travel meals at the 50% limit, and syncs the coded trip to Xero or QuickBooks.
- QuickBooks tracks travel against the business for self-employed filers.
FAQ
See the answered questions above for commuting, travel meals, GST/HST, mixed-purpose trips, and international flights.