It's International Bacon Day!

The last Saturday in August is International Bacon Day here in the United States. (Yes, it's really a thing.) Hang your bacon decorations and warm up your voice for carols! IBD is your chance to celebrate all things bacon, like peanut butter-bacon pop tarts, bacon-flavored ice cream, and bacon cocktails. There's even THC-infused chocolate-covered bacon (!) for the Cheech & Chong set. It's all great fun for everyone except the pig.

There's no denying that bacon mania has swept the country. (Cupcakes? Soooo yesterday.) But today's clever chefs are combining all sorts of unexpected ingredients to make all sorts of new dishes. They're drizzling chocolate on things that never went with chocolate. They're deep-frying things that should never, ever be deep-fried. Today's eaters are having more fun with food than at any time since John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, decided not to get up from his card game to eat lunch.

What does any of this have to do with taxes? Glad you asked! We've said before that every financial decision you make has at least some tax consequence, even if it's a simple sales tax. So let's look at three random nuggets about food and taxes to wet your appetite for this weekend's global celebration of all things bacon:

1. What fun is a business meeting without food? Meals and entertainment that include a bona fide business discussion are ordinarily 50% deductible. But claiming a tasty deduction for a delicious meal doesn't have to mean eating at a restaurant. Did you know you may be able to write off the cost of entertaining at your Labor Day barbecue? It's true even if you don't serve bacon. And you don't even need receipts for expenses under $75. Just record who you host, when you host them, how much you spend, your business relationship with your guest, and the specific benefit you hope to gain by hosting them.
2. Some business meals and entertainment are 100% deductible. You can deduct 100% of your expenses for meals and entertainment for sales seminars and similar events where the meal is integral to the presentation. You can also deduct 100% of the cost of sporting events you organize to benefit charitable organizations, and recreation expenses for your employees. Be generous with those delicious little bacon-wrapped scallops on toothpicks that everyone loves — it's on the IRS!
3. Switching gears a bit, here's another new food hit. Taco Bell's new Doritos Locos taco is a fiesta wrapped up in a tortilla for customers and tax collectors alike. Taco Bell sold 100 million of the messy faux-Mexican creations in the first ten weeks, and still sells a million a day. In fact, Taco Bell claims the phenomenon is responsible for 15,000 new jobs. And while those probably aren't the sort of high-paying positions that prop up an economy, they still generate millions in federal, state, and local income, payroll, and sales taxes. (Just imagine how many more they would sell if they came with bacon!)

So enjoy International Bacon Day. If you're a vegetarian, help yourself to some tofu "facon." Don't call us for recipes — but do call us with any tax questions before you make important financial decisions. We'll help you get the satisfying results you crave, without any financial gluten, trans fats, or heartburn.