Per diems 2024

Domestic business trips

A Belgian employer can give an employee the possibility to claim a daily allowance for domestic business trips. This allowance is tax-free, both for the employer and the employee receiving it, on the condition that the amount of the allowance is not higher than the maximum amount determined by the Belgian government (this is the amount that the Belgian government allows its own employees to claim).

The basic rate for a domestic daily allowance is €10,00 per day, and from 1 June 2024 the maximum (indexed) amount is €20,80 per day (from 1 December 2023 to 31 May 2024: €20,39 per day).

The domestic daily allowance is granted to compensate for the cost of meals during the business trip. In this way, the employee who receives the daily allowance should not claim the actual individual meal expenses for reimbursement.

There are some conditions that need to be fulfilled in order to be entitled to claim for a domestic per diem:

  • the trip should be business-related (away from the home and/or office)
  • the trip duration is at least six hours
  • the distance of the trip is more than 25 kilometres outside of the primary work location (could be the home address or a company’s office address)

The amount of the daily allowance should be reduced in certain cases:

  •  when the employee is receiving a meal voucher for that day, the daily allowance should be reduced with the amount the employer pays for the meal voucher (max. €6,91 per meal voucher). If the employee is deducting the lunch from the per diem because he/she is expensing the lunch separately, the meal voucher needs to be deducted from the actual lunch expense. Ideally, the employer would not give the employee a meal voucher on the days he/she receives a per diem, gets a free lunch, or needs a lunch (with colleagues, customers,…) reimbursed.
  • when one or more of the meals on that day are paid for by the employer or a third party (such as breakfast when it’s included in the cost of the hotel accommodation).
  •  when the employee is attending an event or seminar where the cost of one or more meals is included in the participation fee.
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In Rydoo, you can set up deductions, so users can deduct from per diems. If you offer meal vouchers, you can also configure that lunch is deducted by default in Rydoo.

For employees who are constantly travelling for work (inside Belgium), the employer can give the employee the allowance on a monthly base. This means 16 times (for a full-time worker) the base amount (€10,00) or maximum amount (€20,80) is paid out on a monthly basis.

An overnight allowance can be added to the daily allowance (per diem) when an employee needs to spend the night out of his house during a domestic business trip and when:

  • the cost for the overnight stay is not paid by the employer
  • there are no costs related to the overnight stay (for example: staying with a friend or family member, or staying in a company apartment)

The basic rate for a domestic overnight allowance is €75,00 per night and the maximum amount since 1 June 2024 is €156,05/night (from 1 December 2023 to 31 May 2024: €152,99/night).

RSZ

The National Social Security Office (RSZ) does not follow the tax authority’s flat rates but uses a lower flat rate for the reimbursement of domestic business trips, called ‘allowance for travel expenses’. It is important to check the RSZ amounts that apply to your case.

International business trips

Short international business trips

A Belgian employer can give an employee the possibility to claim a daily allowance for short (<30 consecutive calendar days) international business trips (category 1). This allowance is tax-free, both for the employer and the employee receiving it, on the condition that the amount of the allowance is not higher than the maximum amount determined by the Belgian government.

The daily allowance for short international trips is granted to compensate for the cost of meals and other small expenses (local transportation costs, drinks, snacks, tips, costs for telecommunication) during the business trip. In this way, the employee who receives the daily allowance should not claim the actual individual meal (and other small) expenses for reimbursement.

The daily allowance can only be claimed by employees who normally work in the company (non-field based) and do not travel abroad on a daily basis (like for example truck drivers).

A full daily allowance can be claimed for each full day (= a day between two overnight stays) abroad. Half a daily allowance can be claimed for the day of departure and return. If the departure and return date are on the same day and the trip is at least 10 hours, a full daily allowance can be claimed.

If the business trip consists of visits to multiple countries, the daily allowance will be determined by the location of the last overnight stay.

An overnight allowance can be added to the daily allowance (per diem) when:

  • the cost for the overnight stay is not paid by the employer
  • there are no costs related to the overnight stay (for example: staying with a friend or family member, or staying in a company apartment)

If some of the meals on the business trip are paid by the employer or any third party, these deductions need to be applied:

  • 35% of the daily allowance amount for lunch
  • 45% of the daily allowance amount for dinner

Also, the same goes for short international business trips, if the employee receives meal vouchers for the days he/she is on the business trip, the amount of the meal voucher needs to be deducted from the daily allowance. Furthermore, it is obviously not allowed for an employee to claim expenses made during the business trip based on the receipt in combination with the daily allowance.

The employer can choose to either grant a lump-sum of maximum €37,18 (not dependent on the country of the business trip) or to follow the maximum amount determined by the Belgian government that are different per country. Please find the list with the official maximum amounts below at the end of this article.

Long international business trips

For daily allowances for international business trips longer than 30 consecutive calendar days, other maximum rates apply (category 2). Please find the list with the official maximum amounts below at the end of this article.

Furthermore, the daily allowances for long international trips are limited to 24 months and should stop when the employee decides to permanently reside in the location abroad.

Accommodation allowance

The employer can reimburse the employee accommodation costs if this was not provided by the employer. The actual accommodation costs will be reimbursed, the accommodation fees only serve as a maximum (see second column below).

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International business trips: per diem rates list (applicable as of 15 February 2023)

Country Maximum accommodation allowance (in €) Daily flat-rate allowance – category 1 (in €) Daily flat-rate allowance – category 2 (in €)
Afghanistan 140 60 36
Albania 120 59 36
Algeria 160 81 48
American Samoa 240 89 53
Andorra 150 78 47
Angola 270 84 50
Anguilla 330 105 63
Antigua and Barbuda 260 105 63
Argentina 180 73 44
Armenia 190 92 55
Aruba 210 105 63
Australia 230 98 59
Austria 140 94 56
Azerbaijan 120 81 48
Bahamas 290 105 63
Bahrain 210 110 66
Bangladesh 200 93 56
Barbados 280 105 63
Belarus 140 82 49
Belize 160 82 49
Benin 160 77 46
Bermuda 370 105 63
Bhutan 280 43 26
Bolivia 140 79 48
Bonaire 240 101 61
Bosnia-Herzegovina 80 60 36
Botswana 120 58 35
Brazil 170 52 31
British Virgin Islands 220 102 61
Brunei 120 50 30
Bulgaria 140 50 30
Burkina Faso 170 88 53
Burundi 140 85 51
Cambodia 140 82 49
Cameroon 150 91 55
Canada 240 102 61
Canary Islands 200 78 47
Cape verde 110 74 44
Cayman Islands 330 105 63
Central African Republic 160 92 55
Chad 110 78 47
Chile 200 87 52
China 200 80 48
China, Hong Kong 260 88 53
China, Macau 290 36 21
Colombia 200 37 22
Comoros 120 102 61
Congo, Democratic Republic of 190 110 66
Congo, Republic of 210 101 61
Cook Islands 220 101 61
Costa Rica 170 90 54
Cote D’Ivoire 140 89 54
Croatia 170 64 38
Cuba 180 73 44
Curaçao 210 105 63
Cyprus 140 75 45
Czech Republic 140 58 35
Denmark 210 125 75
Djibouti 380 98 59
Dominica 330 81 49
Dominican Republic 160 71 43
Ecuador 150 89 53
Egypt 190 94 56
El Salvador 150 78 47
Equatorial Guinea 200 79 47
Eritrea 140 92 55
Estonia 120 84 50
Ethiopia 190 92 55
Eswatini 120 47 28
Fiji 250 86 52
Finland 180 113 68
France 200 100 60
French Guiana 270 105 63
French Polynesia 290 105 63
Gabon 190 108 65
Gambia 160 70 42
Georgia 150 63 38
Germany 170 87 52
Ghana 220 97 58
Gibraltar 150 74 45
Greece 150 78 47
Greenland 230 125 75
Grenada 300 95 57
Guadeloupe 250 104 62
Guam 160 94 56
Guatemala 160 88 53
Guinea 170 86 51
Guinea-Bissau 100 69 42
Guyana 280 78 47
Haiti 170 86 51
Honduras 170 61 37
Hungary 150 57 34
Iceland 250 104 62
India 200 68 41
Indonesia 150 95 57
Iran 70 71 43
Iraq 240 85 51
Ireland 210 105 63
Israel 310 112 67
Italy 160 85 51
Jamaica 250 85 51
Japan 250 105 63
Jordan 160 81 48
Kazakhstan 160 77 46
Kenya 210 86 52
Kiribati 130 31 19
Korea, Democratic Republic of (North) 190 57 34
Korea, Republic of (South) 190 86 51
Kosovo 100 67 40
Kuwait 240 109 66
Kyrgyzstan 120 63 38
Laos 110 82 49
Latvia 120 75 45
Lebanon 190 120 72
Lesotho 140 47 28
Liberia 190 120 72
Libya 180 66 40
Liechtenstein 260 120 72
Lithuania 120 67 40
Luxembourg 220 105 63
Madagascar 150 84 50
Malawi 170 66 39
Malaysia 120 64 38
Maldives 380 83 50
Mali 130 87 52
Malta 160 78 47
Marshall Islands 350 78 47
Martinique 250 105 63
Mauritania 120 63 38
Mauritius 230 70 42
Mayotte 260 105 63
Mexico 260 77 46
Micronesia, Federated States of 130 92 55
Moldova 120 60 36
Monaco 260 95 57
Mongolia 180 67 40
Montenegro 120 53 32
Montserrat 140 64 38
Morocco 150 88 53
Mozambique 190 83 50
Myanmar 110 72 43
Namibia 150 58 35
Nauru 120 63 38
Nepal 240 79 48
Netherlands 190 98 59
New Caledonia 230 92 55
New Zealand 200 88 53
Nicaragua 160 66 39
Niger 120 73 44
Nigeria 200 78 47
Niue 150 90 54
North Macedonia 100 50 30
Northern Mariana Islands 180 89 53
Norway 210 119 72
Oman 150 90 54
Pakistan 190 48 29
Palau 250 91 55
Panama 130 90 54
Papua New Guinea 260 91 55
Paraguay 110 71 43
Peru 190 86 51
Philippines 150 99 60
Poland 140 63 38
Portugal 160 71 43
Puerto Rico 250 96 58
Qatar 230 107 64
Reunion 240 99 60
Romania 150 53 32
Russian Federation 190 89 54
Rwanda 170 81 48
Samoa 240 74 44
San Marino 160 85 51
Saint Kitts and Nevis 260 105 63
Saint Lucia 260 105 63
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 180 90 54
Sao Tome and Principe 170 76 46
Saudia Arabia 240 108 65
Sint Maarten 220 103 62
Senegal 170 92 55
Serbia 160 70 42
Seychelles 240 105 63
Sierra Leone 210 84 50
Singapore 250 120 72
Slovakia 130 73 44
Slovenia 130 76 45
Solomon Islands 280 105 63
Somalia 170 25 15
South Africa 160 54 32
South Sudan 180 120 72
Spain 180 78 47
Sri Lanka 160 62 37
Sudan 140 88 53
Suriname 190 82 49
Sweden 210 112 67
Switzerland 240 120 72
Syria 170 87 52
Taiwan 180 82 49
Tajikistan 130 61 37
Tanzania 170 75 45
Thailand 120 78 47
Timor-Leste 180 63 38
Togo 150 92 55
Tonga 230 59 36
Trinidad and Tobago 220 99 59
Tunisia 110 62 37
Turkey 160 50 30
Turkmenistan 210 120 72
Turks and Caicos Islands 261 105 63
Tuvalu 130 46 28
Uganda 210 72 43
Ukraine 140 86 52
United Arab Emirates 220 118 71
United Kingdom 270 105 63
United States of America 390 117 70
Uruguay 150 68 41
Uzbekistan 150 66 39
Vanuatu 270 102 61
Venezuela 200 55 33
Vietnam 130 61 37
Virgin Islands 270 105 63
Wallis and Futuna 170 71 43
West Bank and Gaza Strip 170 93 56
Yemen 130 70 42
Zambia 220 54 33
Zimbabwe 170 91 54

 

Source: Ministerieel besluit (published in BS 15.02.2023)

Before 15 February 2023, the rates defined in Ministerieel besluit 2 July 2018 applied.

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