TP-66-V: Employment Expenses of Transport Employees

Important: We’re in the process of updating this help article for tax year 2020. Please check back soon!

If you work in the transportation industry (as a railway, airline, bus, or trucking company employee) AND your route requires you to travel outside your employer’s municipality or far enough away that you can’t return home at the end of the day, you might be able claim a deduction for your meals and accommodation expenses using form TP-66-V.

Note: You can’t claim expenses that were reimbursed to you by your employer.

If you have multiple employers, you’ll need to enter the information for the work you’ve done and the expenses you paid while working for them, separately.

Note: If you’re going to be claiming the cost of meals and lodging that you had to pay as a long-haul truck driver on your tax return, you’ll need to get your employer to fill out and sign Part 2 of a paper TP-66-V form. Keep this in your records in case Revenu Québec asks to see it later.

As a transportation employee, you might also be able to claim a Québec sales tax (QST) rebate for the QST you paid on your expenses, as long as you deducted these expenses from your employment income.

Federal return: To claim a deduction for your meals and accommodation expenses on your federal return, you’ll need to complete the TL2 page of H&R Block’s tax software.

The amount that you can deduct is 50% of the lesser of:

  • the amount of expenses you paid during trips (other than the cost of meals brought from home, minus any reimbursement or allowance you received from your employer for these expenses) or
  • a reasonable amount in the circumstances

You can choose one of the three methods below to calculate your meal deduction. You’ll need to make sure that you keep records according to the method you select.

  • Batching: Use this method if you are part of a work crew, and you buy groceries and prepare meals for yourself and for the members of the crew. For trips within Canada, you can claim a maximum of $34 per day per person. You can claim $34 U.S. per day per person for trips to the United States. You’ll need to keep records of travel and receipts if you’re spending more than $34 per person, per day.
  • Detailed: You can claim the total expenses that are on your receipt with this method. Use this method if you are keeping all of the following information on file:
    • The date of all your amounts
    • Your travel departure and arrival time
    • Your travel destination
    • The name of the restaurant where you ate
    • The type of expense (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.)
    • The amount you paid
    • All of your receipts

  • Simplified: With this method, you’ll be able to claim $23 per meal (up to a maximum of 3 meals in a 24-hour period) for trips within Canada. For trips to the United States, you can claim $23 U.S. per meal. You don’t need to keep your receipts on file, as long as you have all of the following information:
    • Your travel departure date and time
    • Your travel arrival date and time
    • Your travel destination
    • The number of hours that you were away
    • The number of kilometers you’ve travelled
    • The number of eligible meals (eligible meals are a maximum of $23 per meal, unless your employer asks you to pay less)

Note: For trips to the United States, you’ll need to convert your expenses to Canadian dollars. You can use the average exchange rate on the Bank of Canada website for conversion.

For more information on the number of eligible meals you can claim based on your selected method of record-keeping and travel period, refer to the Employment Expenses (IN-118-V) guide.

You can claim the cost of reasonable accommodation expenses you paid (such as the cost of a hotel or motel room) minus any reimbursement or allowance you received from your employer for these expenses. Be sure to keep your accommodation receipts in case Revenu Québec asks to see them.

You can claim the cost of one shower in a 24-hour period. If you have receipts, you can include the cost within your accommodation expenses. Otherwise, you can only claim $5 per shower for trips within Canada (or $5 U.S. for trips to United States).

Revenu Québec classifies you as a long-haul truck driver if it’s your main job to drive a truck or a tractor that weighs more than 11,788 kg, and you are driving the vehicle for the main purpose of hauling or transporting goods. Eligible periods for travel for long-haul truckers must be at least 24 consecutive hours away from home and driving to a location that is at least 160 kilometers away from your employer’s place of business.

As a long-haul truck driver, you can claim your meal deduction at 80% of the expense you paid.

Follow these steps in H&R Block’s 2020 tax software:

Before you begin, make sure you told us that you lived in Québec on December 31, 2020.

  1. On the PREPARE tab, click the IN THIS SECTION icon.

  2. Under Employment Expenses, click the Add This button.

  3. Click the EMPLOYMENT icon. You’ll find yourself here:



  4. Under theEXPENSES heading, select the checkbox labelled, Employment expenses of transport employees (TP-66-V) then click Continue.

  5. When you arrive at the TP-66-V page, enter your information into the tax software.

The information that you'll enter on this page depends on the type of record-keeping method that you select. For more information, and to help you select a record-keeping method and answer all the related fields correctly, please click here.