Free office snacks, meals may vanish under Trump's new tax bill
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified Stanford economics professor Nicholas Bloom. The story has been corrected.
If your company provides free office snacks or meals, that perk could be at risk due to President Donald Trump's new tax law.
A tax deduction offered to employers for takeout meals and company-provided cafeteria meals will expire at the end of this year thanks to a provision in the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill", which became law earlier in July. Office snacks may be impacted as well.
That could mean some employers, who offer food and snacks to attract employees back to the office, could choose to do away with the perk.
What is the tax deduction on free office meals?
Part of the deduction for company-provided food in the office was reduced in a 2017 tax law, with the remainder scheduled to be eliminated by Dec. 31 this year.
The elimination of the deduction is expected to raise $32 billion in additional taxes on employers through 2034, according to Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation.
There is some question or debate about whether office snacks fall into the category of the deduction that will be eliminated, said Christa Bierma, vice chair of the committee on employee benefits for the American Institute of CPAs.
Free office food is a perk at some companies
Free office snacks and meals have been a staple at many U.S. offices, including tech companies and accounting firms. According to the 2025 Society of Human Resource Management Employee Benefits Survey, 44% of companies surveyed said they provided free snacks and beverages while 78% offered free coffee and 10% had free or company subsidized meals in an on-site cafeteria.
Many companies see the benefit of offering free food or snacks to form a sense of community at the workplace, said James Atkinson, the Society of Human Resource Management's vice president of thought leadership.
"I would not say it is the make or break kind of benefit that you would think of in terms of retaining or attracting employees, but it is kind of one of those perks that the employees look forward to," Atkinson told Paste BN.
Additionally, companies that have an on-site cafeteria or provide meals to employees can make it so workers don't have to leave the office, he said. That could encourage workers to stay later at work, which could be a positive or negative if it encourages a burnout work culture, Atkinson said.
Will the elimination of the deduction nix free food?
Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford University economics professor who studies remote work, doesn't think companies will eliminate the free food perks with the loss of the tax deduction.
"Firms are going to keep on providing this as the number one factor pulling people back to the office is socializing with co-workers," Bloom told Paste BN. "Firms cutting on food and drink would be shortsighted. It is like that old British saying 'penny wise pound foolish.' Basically, you can save on nickels and dimes by cutting the food budget and lose on thousands of dollars in business revenue because employees are not connecting up."
Atkinson and Bierma agree.
"I suspect that most businesses are not going to take that immediately away just because of the deduction being removed, especially if they feel like it really is having an impact on employee morale or employee engagement," said Atkinson.
However, there is a possibility that the elimination of the tax deduction could cause some companies feeling economic uncertainty to pare back the perk, Atkinson and Bierma said.
"I think that even if it becomes non deductible, they'll keep offering the benefit,'' said Bierma, but "maybe they will think about how generous of a buffet spread they want to have."
(This story has been updated to correct an error.)
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.