The safe meal costs more. This is where you write down how much more.
Eating out with celiac disease comes with a price premium. The gluten-free pizza runs a few dollars over the standard one. The dedicated fryer, the separate prep area, the certified bun, all of it adds up across a year of meals you cannot skip. That difference is the gluten-free premium, and for people with a celiac diagnosis it is the same incremental cost the IRS recognizes for groceries, applied to the table instead of the cart.
Restaurant premiums are easy to lose track of, because the receipt rarely spells them out. This tracker gives you one place to record each meal: what the gluten-free version cost, what the standard version would have cost, and the difference between them. It keeps a running yearly total so the number is ready when you sit down with your CPA or tax professional, instead of reconstructed from a shoebox of receipts in April.
It is a spreadsheet. No login, no app, no account. Open it in Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets and start typing.
Dining Out Cost Tracker
Two versions in the same workbook style. The US edition tracks dollars for the medical expense total on Schedule A. The Canada edition tracks Canadian dollars and frames the same premium for the Medical Expense Tax Credit. Pick the one that matches where you file.
Four columns, one habit, a number you can hand off.
The math is already built in. You fill in the prices, the sheet does the subtraction and keeps the total.
Three tabs, no setup.
Everything is pre formatted. The example rows are there to show the shape; clear them and start your own.
Receipt Log
One row per meal. Records the date, restaurant, item, gluten-free cost, standard equivalent, the calculated premium, whether you saved the receipt, and a notes field for cross contact or special prep details.
By Restaurant
An automatic summary that rolls your meals up by restaurant: number of visits, total spent, total premium, and average premium per visit. Useful for spotting where the safe option costs you the most.
Reference Guide
Plain language notes on what makes a restaurant meal documentable, how to handle a dish with no standard equivalent, receipt best practices, and a reminder to review the total with your CPA or tax professional.
No equivalent on the menu?
When a restaurant only offers the gluten-free version with nothing conventional to compare it to, the Reference tab walks you through how to estimate a fair standard price so the premium stays defensible.
Grounded in the same guidance the grocery premium relies on.
The incremental cost approach for a medically necessary gluten-free diet traces back to primary IRS guidance, with the Canadian credit covered by the CRA.
- Internal Revenue Code Section 213(d) law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/213
- IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf
- Celiac Disease Foundation, Federal Benefits celiac.org/gluten-free-living/federal-benefits/tax-deductions
- CRA, Eligible medical expenses (lines 33099 and 33199) canada.ca, lines 33099 and 33199
Friendly reminder. This tracker is general educational information, not personalized medical, tax, or legal advice. It records what you spend; it does not decide what is claimable on your return. Eligibility for the medical expense deduction in the US or the Medical Expense Tax Credit in Canada depends on your diagnosis, your documentation, and the rules in effect for your filing year. The gluten-free premium is recognized only for the household members with a celiac diagnosis, not for anyone who eats gluten-free by choice. Keep your receipts, and review the totals with your CPA or tax professional before filing.
Tired of the spreadsheet? Let Gluten Hero do the tallying.
Snap a receipt, log a meal, capture mileage, and the app keeps the running premium and the year-end documentation your CPA or tax professional needs. The tracker is the free on ramp; the app is the autopilot.