Congress has quietly turned a long‑standing, commonsense business practice into a tax trap: starting in 2026, you as an employer will lose the deduction for ordinary break‑room coffee and snacks—even though those same items remain excludable to employees as classic de minimis fringe benefits.

Not only is that change unfair to you, the employer, but it is almost certainly counterproductive from productivity and workplace culture standpoints. Who really wants employees walking to the corner coffee shop instead of grabbing a cup in the workplace and getting back to work?

Commonsense Fringe Benefit

For decades, employers have provided modest refreshments—coffee, soft drinks, doughnuts, occasional snacks—in the office to keep people on‑site, foster collaboration, and boost morale. Under the de minimis fringe benefit rules, this has ... Log in to view full article.