Is a per diem meal allowance while traveling for work considered a taxable benefit?

Generally, no — a per diem meal allowance paid while you're genuinely travelling for work is generally not treated as a taxable benefit, as long as the amount is reasonable and it's actually tied to real business travel. This is a common and generally accepted way to cover meal costs on the road without requiring you to submit individual receipts for every meal.

The key conditions doing the work here are "reasonable" and "tied to actual business travel." A per diem that's set at a reasonable level for the location and circumstances, paid only for days you're actually travelling for work purposes, fits comfortably within the non-taxable treatment this kind of allowance generally gets. An amount that's excessive for the circumstances, or paid regardless of whether you actually travelled, is more likely to be treated as taxable income.

This sits alongside a related distinction worth understanding: an accountable arrangement, where the amount is reasonably tied to actual travel and expenses, is treated differently from a non-accountable flat allowance that isn't tied to real expenses or actual travel days, which is more likely to be taxable. If your employer's per diem policy seems generous relative to typical travel costs, or is paid without regard to actual travel, it's worth double-checking how it's being treated for tax purposes.