Business Travel Expenses
What self-employed Canadians can deduct for business travel: transport, hotels, 50% meals, conventions, mixed business and vacation trips, and 2026 allowance rates.
The short version
- Self-employed people can deduct travel to earn business income: airfare, train, car rental, taxis, hotels and parking. Meals while travelling are 50% deductible.
- Only the business part counts. Add vacation days to a trip and their hotel nights and meals are personal. If the trip's main purpose is business, the airfare is usually fully deductible.
- Conventions: up to two a year, held where your business or professional organization normally operates.
- Self-employed people deduct actual costs with receipts. The CRA kilometre rate (73 cents for the first 5,000 km in 2026) is for employers paying employees, not for your own deduction.
- A spouse or kids along for the ride are personal, unless they work in the business and have a real role on the trip.
Business Travel Expenses
Business travel is the deduction that gets the most raised eyebrows at CRA, for the same reason it gets the most raised eyebrows at home: a trade show in Las Vegas is real business, and also, unmistakably, Las Vegas. The rules are reasonable. Costs to earn income are deductible, personal days aren't, and the burden of showing which is which is on you. A short note written during the trip is worth a lot more than a long explanation written during an audit.
What's Deductible
| Expense | Deductible |
|---|---|
| Airfare, train, bus, ferry | Yes, if the main purpose is business |
| Hotel or other lodging | Business nights only |
| Meals while travelling | 50%; see meals and entertainment |
| Car rental, taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls | Business portion |
| Your own vehicle | Business-use share of actual costs, from a logbook; see vehicle expenses and the mileage log |
| Conference and trade show fees | Yes, up to two conventions a year |
| Phone and data roaming for business | Yes; see phone and internet |
| Spouse's or children's travel | No, unless they work in the business and the trip needs them |
| Your normal commute | No |
Claim these on form T2125; see filling out the T2125 and business expenses.
Mixed a business trip with a holiday?
Tell the assistant where you went, how many days were business, and what you spent on flights, hotels and meals. It splits business from personal the way CRA expects and shows what you can deduct.
Example: Trade Show With Two Holiday Days
| Cost | Paid | Deductible |
|---|---|---|
| Return airfare | $700 | $700 (main purpose is business) |
| Hotel, 5 nights at $200 | $1,000 | $600 (3 business nights) |
| Meals on the 3 business days | $300 | $150 (50%) |
| Show admission | $500 | $500 |
| Meals and activities on holiday days | $550 | $0 |
| Total | $3,050 | $1,950 |
Keep the show badge, the agenda, the receipts, and a note of who you met. If you're registered for GST/HST, claim input tax credits on Canadian travel costs (meals at 50%); foreign costs have no GST to claim. See input tax credits.
Employees Are Different
- Allowances: a reasonable per-kilometre allowance from an employer isn't taxable. CRA's 2026 reasonable rates are 73 cents a km for the first 5,000 km and 67 cents after (77 and 71 cents in the territories).
- Deducting it yourself: employees can deduct travel only if their contract requires them to pay it, they normally work away from the employer's place of business, they don't get a non-taxable allowance, and the employer signs a T2200; see employment expenses.
- Corporations: a company paying an owner's personal travel creates a taxable benefit or shareholder benefit; see corporate vehicle expenses.
Mistakes That Cost Deductions
- Claiming the whole family holiday because one client lunch happened.
- Using a per diem. Self-employed people claim actual receipts, not a flat daily rate.
- No proof of the business purpose. Receipts show you spent money; an agenda shows why.
- Deducting meals at 100%. Travel meals are 50%, with narrow exceptions.
- Forgetting the mileage log for road trips in your own vehicle; see recordkeeping.
Business Travel Questions
What travel expenses can self-employed people deduct in Canada?
Reasonable costs of travelling to earn business income: transportation, lodging, car rental, taxis, parking, and 50% of meals. Personal portions, such as vacation days added to a trip, are not deductible.
Can I deduct a trip that’s part business and part vacation?
The business part. Lodging and meals on business days are deductible; holiday days are not. If the main purpose of the trip is business, the transportation is usually fully deductible.
Can I use the CRA per-kilometre rate if I’m self-employed?
No. The CRA reasonable allowance rates, 73 cents per km for the first 5,000 km in 2026, are for employers paying employees. Self-employed people deduct the business share of actual vehicle costs, based on a logbook.
How many conventions can I deduct per year?
Up to two a year, held by a business or professional organization at a location that is reasonably within its territory.
Can I deduct my spouse’s travel costs?
Only if your spouse works in the business and has a real business reason to be on the trip. Otherwise their costs are personal.
Sources: CRA, Guide T4002, chapter 3: business expenses; Driversnote, CRA mileage rate 2026. Checked October 2026. The 2026 allowance rates come from a secondary source quoting CRA. Whether a trip's main purpose is business is a question of fact. Convention rules and the 50% meal limit have exceptions not covered here.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.