Can I claim a client lunch?

For UK sole traders. Checked against gov.uk on 4 July 2026.

No.

Taking a client, supplier or customer out is never deductible for a sole trader, however business-flavoured the conversation.

HMRC's rule is blunt: entertaining clients, suppliers and customers is disallowable, and it goes in the disallowable box on the tax return. It doesn't matter that the lunch won the job. There is no percentage to claim and no clever route around it.

Record it anyway. Good books show everything, and SoleTax keeps it on file, marked not claimable, so your records stay complete without your tax being wrong.

Quick answers

Can I claim a coffee with a client?
No. Any hospitality for a client, supplier or customer is business entertainment, and that is never deductible for a sole trader, whatever the size of the bill.

Can I claim my own lunch while working?
Usually not. An ordinary working meal is a personal cost. Meals can be claimed on an overnight business trip away from your normal base.

Compliance first.Every figure checked verbatim against gov.uk, with the date on the page

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Sources: HMRC's SA103F Notes 2026 (the self-employment notes for the tax return) and HMRC's Business Income Manual (BIM45000). Checked on 4 July 2026.