If you are a business owner who is accustomed to treating clients to sporting events, golf getaways, concerts and the like, you were no doubt saddened by the part of the tax reform that passed last December that did away with the business-related deductions for entertainment, amusement or recreation expenses, beginning in 2018. You can still entertain your clients; you just can’t deduct the costs of doing so as a business expense.

While the ban on deducting business entertainment was quite clear in the revised law, a lingering question among tax experts has been whether the tax reform’s definition of entertainment also applied to business meals, such as when you take a customer or business contact to lunch. Some were saying yes, and others no. Either way, both sides recommended keeping the required receipts and documentation until the issue was clarified.

The IRS recently issued some very business-friendly guidance, pending the release of more detailed regulations. In a notice, the IRS has announced that taxpayers generally may continue to deduct 50 percent of the food and beverage expenses associated with operating their trade or business, including business meals