Tax Tools - Daily lump sum allowances

Daily tax free allowances for business travels abroad

 Principles

Allowances given by an employer to his employee to cover foreign business travel expenses are costs proper to the employer. These allowances are tax exempt for the employee (art. 31, al.1, 1° Belgian Income tax Code) and are deductible for the employer.

Daily lump-sum allowances paid to reimburse expenses incurred during short foreign business travel are exempt from tax to the extent they do not exceed the lump-sum per diem allowances paid by the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs to its civil servants who go on a mission abroad, based on the official list published by Foreign Affairs (however, higher lump-sum can still be accepted if justified).

Daily lump-sum allowances are used to repay the sums that employees and company directors spend on meals and other minor expenses (local transportation, snacks and drinks, tips, local communications). They do not cover lodging or international travel costs.

These amounts apply for employees and company directors going on short business trips of up to 30 calendar days

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