Restaurant tax: recovery and invoices

Practical answers about travel, receipts and expenses for your business.

Country determines the rules. Language is independent.

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Your questions, in practice · France

Should you request a restaurant invoice?

Yes. Ask for an itemised invoice when paying, preferably addressed to the company. It should identify the restaurant, date, items, amounts and tax charged. Add the business purpose and attendees to your expense claim.

Can restaurant meal VAT be recovered?

In France, yes, where the company is entitled to deduct VAT, the meal serves its business and the invoice is valid. A business under the VAT exemption scheme cannot recover it. Any private portion is excluded even when the company paid the invoice.

Can VAT on expense claims be recovered?

An expense claim summarises costs, but the attached invoices support VAT recovery. In France, the company must be entitled to deduct VAT and the cost must serve an eligible activity without falling under an exclusion. Mileage reimbursement itself contains no recoverable VAT.

Can restaurant VAT be recovered?

Yes. French VAT on a business restaurant meal can be recovered with a valid invoice and entitlement to deduct it. The restaurant should distinguish the applicable rates. Claim the tax actually charged on the business portion rather than applying one rate to the entire bill.

Must the invoice name the company?

Request an invoice addressed to the company, including its details, when buying for it. For French restaurant invoices up to €150 before VAT, the customer can complete its identification in the designated space. Above that amount, the restaurant must supply the required details. The cardholder name is not a substitute.

Can a till receipt support VAT recovery?

Only if the document contains the details needed to support VAT recovery. A receipt showing only a total is insufficient. Request an itemised invoice with the supplier, date, items and tax amounts, and have the company identification completed as required.

What if a receipt does not show VAT?

Ask the supplier for a complete or corrected invoice. Until then, record the amount paid without claiming unsupported VAT. If the supplier lawfully charges no VAT, for example under an exemption scheme, there is no tax to recover.

Why can deductible expenses have nonrecoverable VAT?

Deducting an expense reduces taxable profit; recovering VAT concerns a different tax and different conditions. For example, a French director’s business hotel stay can be a business expense while the room VAT remains nonrecoverable. That VAT then forms part of the expense’s cost.

Official sources and reference period

Amounts apply to the periods specified in the answers. The official texts below explain the conditions and exceptions.

These answers describe general rules for the selected country and stated periods. They are not personalised legal, tax or accounting advice. Your accountant can help apply them to your business.