If certain conditions are met, employers are allowed to make lump-sum payments, which are tax-free in the hands of the employees, in order to reimburse these employees for expenses incurred due to business travel within Belgium.
As of 1 October 2018 a tax-free meal allowance of EUR 17.06 (instead of EUR 16.73 per day) is applicable for business trips within Belgium provided that the business trip lasts at least 6 hours and that no other benefit or compensation is granted for the cost of a meal.
Moreover, for frequent travelers, it is possible to grant a monthly lump-sum expense allowance limited to EUR 272,96 (i.e. 16 times the daily lump-sum amount of EUR 17,06).
In case of overnight stay an additional (daily) allowance of EUR 128,01 (instead of EUR 125,50) can be granted tax-free as of 1 October 2018 provided that and that no other benefit or compensation is granted for the overnight stay.
Please note that these updated amounts are typically derived from the public sector.
The principles regarding the lump-sum cost reimbursements for foreign business trips remain unchanged. For the updated amounts in relation to foreign business travel, we refer to our newsflash of 21 September 2018. The list with the new indexed amounts for accommodation expenses in Belgium applicable as from 1 October 2018 has been published in the Practice Note of 9 November 2018 (2018/C/122) – Dutch and French.
