Which transport employees can claim meals and lodging on Form TL2, and how much?
For 2025, Form TL2 lets transport employees deduct meals at $23 each under the simplified method (50% deductible, 80% for long haul truck drivers on eligible trips) plus lodging with receipts. It's for airline, railway, bus and trucking employees who regularly travel overnight away from the employer's home terminal on its vehicles, and the employer signs Part 3.
Who qualifies to claim meals and lodging on a TL2?
Three groups of employees use the TL2, each under a different paragraph of the Act, and long haul truck drivers in any of them get a higher meal percentage canada.ca. Everyone claims the result on line 22900.
| Employee | ITA provision | Conditions | Forms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee of a transport business (airline, railway, bus, trucking, or any employer whose main business is moving goods or passengers) | 8(1)(g) | Regularly travels on the employer's vehicles away from the municipality and metropolitan area of the home terminal, and regularly pays for meals and lodging while away | TL2, employer completes Part 3 |
| Railway relief telegrapher or station agent, or railway maintenance and repair worker away from home | 8(1)(e)(i) | Away from the ordinary place of residence | TL2 |
| Railway employee at a distant location | 8(1)(e)(ii) | Too far to return daily to the home where they support a spouse, common law partner or dependant | TL2 |
| Other transport employee (main duty is transporting goods, but the employer is not a transport business) | 8(1)(h) | Travelling expense conditions, meals only when away 12 hours or more, no tax free travel allowance | T2200 and TL2 |
| Long haul truck driver, either kind of employer | 67.1(1.1) | Eligible travel period: 24 hours away, goods hauled 160 km or more, truck over 11,788 kg | TL2 Part 2B at 80% |
Paragraph 8(1)(g) has no 12 hour test of its own. Subsection 8(4) applies only to meals claimed under 8(1)(f) and 8(1)(h), so an employee of a trucking or bus company isn't held to it, while an 8(1)(h) driver is laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
The CRA reads 8(1)(g) as an overnight deduction: employees must generally be away from home overnight, and it isn't meant for drivers who go home at the end of each day and buy meals as a matter of course canada.ca. A city delivery driver with a daily route usually has no TL2 claim.
How much is each meal worth on the TL2?
Your client picks one of three methods for meals. Lodging always needs receipts, whichever method they use canada.ca.
| Method | Meal amount | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Simplified | $23 per meal, sales tax included, up to three a day (US$23 on U.S. trips) | Log book of trips, no meal receipts |
| Detailed | Actual cost of each meal | Log book plus receipts |
| Batching (work crews with employer cooking facilities) | Up to $46 per person per day | No receipts up to $46 |
The CRA generally allows one meal after every four hours from departure, to a maximum of three a day. The "day" is a 24 hour period that starts at departure, and departure is the moment the employee leaves the municipality and metropolitan area of the employer's establishment canada.ca.
| Hours away since departure, within one 24 hour day | Meals allowed |
|---|---|
| Under 4 | 0 |
| 4 to under 8 | 1 |
| 8 to under 12 | 2 |
| 12 or more | 3 |
Then the percentage applies. Meals on regular trips are 50% deductible, so a $23 simplified meal is worth $11.50. During an eligible travel period, a long haul truck driver deducts 80% instead canada.ca. The 80% comes from the specified percentage in subsection 67.1(5), which has been 80% for amounts paid after 2010
laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
Worked example: a long haul driver claims $13,185 for 2025
Your client drives a tractor trailer (gross vehicle weight rating over 11,788 kg) for a trucking company and uses the simplified method for 2025. They spent 200 days on eligible long haul runs at three meals a day, plus 15 shorter overnight runs inside 160 km with two meals each. The employer paid a $300 tax free meal allowance on the short runs, and nothing toward lodging.
| TL2 line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Part 2B meals, eligible travel periods | 600 meals x $23 | $13,800 |
| Less tax free allowance | none | $0 |
| Deductible at 80% | $13,800 x 80% | $11,040 |
| Part 2A meals, other trips | 30 meals x $23 | $690 |
| Less tax free allowance | $690 minus $300 | $390 |
| Deductible at 50% | $390 x 50% | $195 |
| Lodging: motels $1,200 plus 50 showers at $15 | $1,200 + $750 | $1,950 |
| Allowable claim, line 22900 | $11,040 + $195 + $1,950 | $13,185 |
Two details from the form drive that result. The allowance comes off before the percentage, on its own line for each part of the claim, and lodging is added at 100% because section 67.1 limits only food, beverages and entertainment canada.ca. Showers count as lodging for a driver who sleeps in the cab rather than a hotel
canada.ca.
Had your client applied 80% to all 630 meals, the meal claim would have been $14,490 x 80% = $11,592 before the allowance. The 15 short runs fail the 24 hour and 160 km tests, so they stay in Part 2A at 50%.
Which six questions does the employer answer in Part 3?
Your client completes Parts 1 and 2, and the employer completes and signs Part 3. The 2025 form asks the employer six questions canada.ca:
| Part 3 question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is the main business transporting goods, passengers, or both? | Decides 8(1)(g) or 8(1)(h) |
| Which collective agreement governs the job? | Context for allowances and subsidized meals |
| Is the employee ever away 12 consecutive hours from the municipality and metropolitan area? | The 12 hour rule for 8(1)(h) claims |
| Is the employee a long haul truck driver, away 24 hours and 160 km or more? | Opens Part 2B at 80% |
| Are subsidized meals available, and at what cost? | Only meals actually paid for count |
| Is there a meal or lodging allowance or repayment, and how much went on the T4? | Tax free amounts reduce the claim |
Your client doesn't send the TL2 with the return. They keep it, signed by the employer, with the log book and receipts for at least six years in case the CRA asks canada.ca. For an 8(1)(h) driver the employer also signs a T2200; see the T2200 page for that form and the T777 page for the rest of the employment expense claim.
Which mistakes get a TL2 claim cut back?
A tax free allowance works differently by paragraph. Under 8(1)(g) and 8(1)(e) it just reduces the claim. Under 8(1)(h), a reasonable allowance excluded from income by subparagraph 6(1)(b)(v), (vi) or (vii) blocks every travel expense, meals and lodging included; if the allowance is taxable and on the T4, the claim can go ahead canada.ca.
Using $17 a meal. Information Circular IC73-21R9 was last revised in 2006 and still prints $17 per meal for 2006 and later years canada.ca. The CRA's current transport employee page uses $23
canada.ca. The same $23 runs through the CRA's other flat meal rates on the meal allowance rates page.
Meals your client didn't buy. A meal only counts if it was paid for, so a driver who carries lunch from home has nothing to claim for that meal canada.ca.
The wrong home terminal. A temporary assignment the employer requires doesn't change the home terminal, but a move on a voluntary or bid basis does, and the new terminal becomes the point every trip is measured from canada.ca.
Sources
Does a trucking company employee also need a T2200?
No, not when the employer's main business is transport: the TL2 with Part 3 signed is the employer's certification. A T2200 is needed when the main duty is transporting goods but the employer isn't a transport business, and then your client files both forms canada.ca.
How are trips into the United States claimed?
On the simplified method each U.S. meal is US$23, with the same 50% or 80% limit. Convert the U.S. totals for meals and lodging to Canadian dollars at the Bank of Canada annual average rate, summarize the trips in Part 2 and attach a detailed list canada.ca. See foreign income exchange rates for the annual average.
Can a long haul driver get GST/HST back on TL2 expenses?
Yes, through the employee GST/HST rebate, if the employer is a GST/HST registrant and not a listed financial institution. For a long haul truck driver the rebate excludes 20% of the GST/HST paid on meals in eligible travel periods, instead of 50%, and the rebate is taxable on line 10400 in the year received canada.ca. The GST370 page walks through the form.
Is lodging limited to 50% like meals?
No. The 50% and 80% limits in section 67.1 apply to food, beverages and entertainment, so lodging, including showers for a driver who sleeps in the cab, is deducted in full after any tax free lodging allowance laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
General information for the tax year shown, not advice for a specific client. Confirm the facts before you file or remit.