05/26/2026
Breakroom coffee not deductible in 2026.
Starting in 2026, an employer will lose the deduction for ordinary break‑room coffee and snacks—even though those same items remain excludable to employees as classic de minimis fringe benefits.
For decades, employers have provided modest refreshments—coffee, soft drinks, doughnuts, occasional snacks— in the office to keep employees on‑site, foster collaboration, and boost morale. Under the de minimis fringe benefit rules, this has been treated as a trivial, administratively impracticable benefit to track on a per‑employee basis and therefore has been excluded from employee income. IRS Publication 15‑B clearly places the break‑room staples in the de minimis category, stating that an employer can exclude from employee income any coffee, doughnuts, and soft drinks provided.
