Netherlands Per diems

 

Employees in the Netherlands are entitled to per diems as compensation for the increased costs of meals and lodging when on a business trip. Per diems are not considered part of an employee’s pay and are thus tax free up to a certain allowed amount. The allowed amounts differ whether it is a business trip within the Netherlands or a business trip abroad.

Domestic business trips

Employees in the Netherlands are entitled to per diems as compensation for the increased costs of meals and lodging when on a business trip. Per diems are not considered part of an employee’s pay and are thus tax-free up to a certain allowed amount. The allowed amounts differ whether it is a business trip within the Netherlands or a business trip abroad.

The requirement for this domestic Per Diem are the following:

• the business trip lasts at least 4 hours;
• the destination of the business trip is in another municipality or at least one kilometer from the employee’s primary place of work.

The Per Diem rates for domestic business trips are updated every year, on January 1st. The Per Diem is composed of the following components:

	2023	2023	Notes
Small expenses during the day	€6,34	€5,64
Small expenses in the evening	€18,91	€16,82	This applies if the employee stays overnight because of the business trip
Lodging	€143,97	€115,36	This is the amount per night
Breakfast	€14,06	€11,27	This applies if the employee stayed overnight because of the business trip
Lunch	€19,06	€17,44	This applies to every period from 12:00 to 14:00 that falls within your business trip
Dinner	€28,84	€26,39	This applies to any period from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. that falls within your business trip.

 

If the employee gets a meal for free (for example, if a free breakfast is supplied by the hotel), this needs to be deducted from the per diem allowance.

It is important to note that the reimbursement for lodging, breakfast, lunch and dinner needs to be incurred in an establishment intended for this purpose, which is further defined as a generally accessible facility that offers accommodation and/or meals and/or drinks for consumption.

Lower daily allowance

In case you often make business trips as an employee and in case the nature of your work or travel circumstances gives cause for this, your employer can set a lower daily allowance.

If the business trip lasts longer than 8 days, the allowance for small expenses in the evening is halved as of the 9th day.

Fixed allowance for business trips

Instead of the allowances per business trip, your employer can also give you a fixed allowance per month or per quarter for your business trip expenses. When determining the amount for this, your employer will take the number of business trips that you usually make and the compensation you receive on average.

Your fixed fee cannot exceed the fees it replaces.

If changes occur that are important for the amount of the fixed fee, that fee will be adjusted accordingly. The employee is obliged to inform their employer of such changes.

The allowed amount of daily allowance for a business trip abroad differs depending on the country. The list of allowances per country is set out in attachment 6 of the CAO Rijk and updated on the 1st of January and on the 1st of July every year. You can find the daily allowances per country applicable below at the end of this article.

The following situations are exceptions to the allowed amount of daily allowances:

• In case part of your business trip within the Netherlands that is four hours or longer and that connects to a trip or travel by plane or boat, the rules and reimbursement amounts for domestic business travel apply for that part of the journey;
• In case parts of the journey are not made by plane or boat and for which no expenses are to be made for accommodation, these parts are added to a subsequent or previous part of the journey and reimbursed according to the rate for that part of the journey.

If you can prove with evidence that the reimbursement of the daily allowance is not sufficient, your employer may decide to reimburse the additional expenses in whole or in part.

As mentioned above, the allowed amount of the daily allowance depends on the destination of the business trip. The list includes two columns: the maximum accommodation costs and the other costs.

The other costs are composed of the following components, as a percentage of the number of other costs associated with the destination of the business trip:

Small expenses	1,5%	For every hour that the business trip lasts (for example 36% for 24 hours)
Breakfast	12%	This applies to every period from 6:00 am to 8:00 am that falls within your business trip
Lunch	20%	This applies to every period from 12:00 to 14:00 that falls within your business trip
Dinner	32%	This applies to any period from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. that falls within your business trip.

 

If the employee gets a meal for free (for example, if a free breakfast is supplied by the hotel), this needs to be deducted from the per diem allowance.

The supporting document submitted with the claim for the employees’ accommodation — including breakfast — might not be subdivided. In that case, the employee is entitled to get reimbursement of the costs, as stated on the supporting document, up to a maximum of the sum of the reimbursement amounts for bed and breakfast applicable to your temporary residence.

Important to note is that the reimbursements for breakfast, lunch and dinner need to be incurred in an establishment intended for this purpose, which is further defined as a generally accessible facility that offers accommodation and/or meals and/or drinks for consumption.

You are entitled to reimbursement for your accommodation costs up to a maximum of the amount stated there for your temporary residence in the rate list. If you do not submit proof of these costs, you will be reimbursed € 11,34 per overnight stay for a maximum of four nights per business trip.

Lower daily allowance

In case you often make business trips as an employee and in case the nature of your work or travel circumstances give cause for this, your employer can set a lower daily allowance.

To qualify for this, the business trip must last longer than 60 days and the employee must perform the work in or from one specific temporary residence outside the Netherlands.

The lower daily allowance entails that the employer halves the allowance for small expenses, breakfast, lunch and dinner as of the 61st day. If circumstances ask for it, the employer may decide to apply for this lower daily allowance earlier.

No daily allowance

You are not entitled to a daily allowance for:

• A business trip shorter than 4 hours;
• A part of the trip in the Netherlands shorter than 4 hours connects to a journey or part of the journey by plane or boat. In that case, you are entitled to reimbursement of accommodation costs for a connecting flight within Europe;
• A part of the trip by plane for air travel outside Europe
• A visiting trip during a long-term business trip. You are entitled to reimbursement of accommodation costs for parts of your visiting trip for the journey from your temporary residence to your regular place of residence.

---

Business trips abroad: list of per diem rates (1 January 2023 – 30 June 2023)

Country	City	Maximum amount accommodation costs (in €)	Amount other costs (in €)
Afghanistan
	Kabul	212	96
	Others	62	35
Albanië
	Tirana	201	83
	Others	222	61
Algerije
	Algiers	250	124
	Others	253	81
Andorra
	All cities	111	87
Angola
	Luanda	305	120
	Others	130	53
Anguilla
	All cities	383	174
Antigua en Barbuda
	Antigua	326	161
	Others	160	98
Argentinië
	Buenos Aires	158	101
	Others	192	58
Armenië
	Yerevan	436	164
	Others	103	72
Aruba
	All cities	253	149
Australië
	Canberra, Melbourne en Sydney	209	118
	Others	205	102
Azerbeidzjan
	Bakoe	143	92
	Others	64	44
Bahamas
	All cities	254	162
Bahrein
	Manama	324	191
Bangladesh
	Dhaka	213	120
	Others	135	56
Barbados
	All cities	374	202
Belarus
	Minsk	150	104
	Others	70	63
België
	All cities	187	124
Belize
	Belize-Stad	143	92
	Others	251	127
Benin
	Cotonou	214	88
	Others	104	49
Bermuda
	All cities	382	137
Bhutan
	Thimphu	214	137
	Others	147	44
Bolivia
	La Paz	94	86
	Others	81	54
Bonaire
	All cities	179	114
Bosnië en Herzegovina
	Sarajevo	108	72
	Banja Luka	60	59
	Bihac	67	60
	Jahorina	79	48
	Mostar	57	56
	Vlasic	59	54
	All cities	56	48
Botswana
	Gaborone	108	61
	Others	155	56
Brazilië
	Brasilia	98	58
	Belém	73	60
	Belo Horizonte	65	49
	Boa Vista	69	54
	Curitiba	69	52
	Florianopolis	96	43
	Fortaleza	60	51
	Joao Pessoa	75	69
	Manaus	56	59
	Paraty	136	98
	Penedo	135	86
	Porto Alegre	80	43
	Rio de Janeiro	129	64
	Sao Paulo	87	58
	Sorocaba	92	88
	Vitória	77	53
	Others	56	49
Brunei
	All cities	116	63
Bulgarije
	Sofia	190	75
	Burgas, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora en Varna	54	41
	Others	43	35
Burkina Faso
	Ouagadougou	226	112
	Others	74	44
Burundi
	Bujumbura	146	102
	Others	234	80
Cambodja
	Phnom-Penh	393	155
	Others	145	64
Canada
	Ottawa	266	132
	Calgary	200	99
	Montreal	242	120
	Toronto	278	120
	Vancouver	274	124
	Others	188	97
Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek
	Bangui	172	85
	Others	31	32
Chili
	Santiago	278	150
	Others	182	106
China
	Peking	146	93
	Changsha	81	94
	Chengdu	138	52
	Dalian	106	74
	Guangzhou	139	85
	Guiyang	85	78
	Haikou	118	66
	Hangzhou	123	96
	Jinan	109	73
	Kunming	102	65
	Quingdao	135	76
	Sanya	111	87
	Shanghai	184	87
	Shenyang	110	73
	Shenzhen	138	78
	Tianjin	182	90
	Wu Han	116	81
	Xi’An	99	88
	Xiamen	119	86
	Others	99	58
China, Hong Kong
	Hong Kong	177	70
China, Macau
	Macau	141	41
Colombia
	Bogotá	82	25
	Others	84	20
Comoren
	Moroni	115	124
	Others	79	76
Congo-Brazaville
	Brazzaville	304	120
	Others	240	90
Congo-Kinshasa
	Kinshasa	322	167
	Others	155	65
Cookeilanden
	Rarotonga	201	123
	Others	270	123
Costa Rica
	San José	280	133
	Others	202	85
Cuba
	Havana	186	73
	Others	245	66
Curaçao
	All cities	194	129
Cyprus
	Nicosia	95	87
	Others	125	88
Denemarken
	All cities	198	138
Djibouti
	Djibouti	321	139
	Others	74	42
Dominica
	All cities	308	100
Dominicaanse Republiek
	Santo Domingo	142	102
	Others	290	81
Duitsland
	Berlijn	235	138
	Bonn	133	122
	Hamburg	255	200
	München	136	98
	Others	120	98
Ecuador
	Quito	203	130
	Others	153	90
Egypte
	Caïro	190	117
	Others	381	135
El Salvador
	San Salvador	127	99
	Others	75	59
Equatoriaal-Guinea
	Malabo	329	186
	Others	166	66
Eritrea
	Asmara	75	78
	Others	68	93
Estland
	All cities	104	116
Eswatini
	Mbabane	94	47
	Others	99	44
Ethiopië
	Addis Abeba	338	153
	Others	131	49
Fiji
	Suva	325	134
	Others	366	103
Filipijnen
	Manila	136	120
	Others	153	51
Finland
	Helsinki	167	98
	Others	168	87
Frankrijk
	Parijs	192	133
	Others	151	118
Gabon
	Libreville	289	156
	Others	214	78
Gambia
	Banjul	206	66
	Others	170	38
Georgië
	Tbilisi	209	78
	Batumi	153	73
	Others	93	50
Ghana
	Accra	311	154
	Others	154	92
Gibraltar
	All cities	110	60
Grenada
	All cities	173	89
Griekenland
	Athene	139	101
	Thessaloniki	81	87
	Others	86	65
Groot-Brittannië (en Noord-Ierland)
	Londen	209	128
	Others	153	102
Guam
	All cities	158	110
Guatemala
	Guatemala-Stad	162	122
	Others	102	64
Guinee
	Conakry	267	91
	Others	82	64
Guinee-Bissau
	Bissau	141	73
	Others	84	31
Guyana
	Georgetown	409	112
	Others	99	32
Haïti
	Port-au-Prince	227	98
	Others	172	84
Honduras
	Tegucigalpa	111	58
	La Ceiba	95	49
	Roatan	230	91
	San Pedro Sula	116	48
	Others	74	37
Hongarije
	Boedapest	169	95
	Visegrad	169	67
	Others	118	53
Ierland
	All cities	160	111
IJsland
	All cities	203	110
India
	Delhi	141	102
	Bengaluru	155	80
	Chandigarh	100	57
	Chennai	87	63
	Goa	135	67
	Hyderabad	91	58
	Jaipur	112	60
	Kolkata	90	63
	Mumbai	140	83
	Pune	102	57
	Srinagar	364	124
	Others	87	56
Indonesië
	Jakarta	224	106
	Ambon	65	59
	Balik Papan	58	51
	Bandung	86	49
	Bogor	73	47
	Denpasar	78	54
	Jayapura	74	48
	Makassar	76	48
	Medan	57	52
	Menado	59	50
	Nusa Dua	281	133
	Palu	50	52
	Surabaya	67	47
	Yogyakarta	75	52
	Others	58	44
Irak
	Bagdad	234	116
	Others	338	103
Iran
	Tehran	82	32
	Others	116	35
Israël
	Tel Aviv	269	128
	Eilat	216	89
	Haifa	200	108
	Herzliya	204	81
	Jeruzalem	358	141
	Tiberias	162	122
	Others	179	89
Italië
	Rome	136	125
	Bologna	131	102
	Florence	139	101
	Milaan	162	132
	Napels	174	121
	Palermo	132	112
	Triëst	100	128
	Turijn	132	127
	Venetië	166	141
	Others	99	99
Ivoorkust
	Abidjan	222	131
	Others	147	85
Jamaica
	Kingston	190	103
	Others	230	134
Japan
	Tokyo	320	126
	Fukuoka	103	78
	Hiroshima en Nagoya	98	71
	Kobe	119	90
	Kyoto	178	96
	Osaka	109	67
	Yokohama	200	108
	Others	114	70
Jemen
	Sanaa	215	97
	Others	190	65
Jordanië
	Amman	132	78
	Others	141	60
Kaaimaneilanden
	All cities	278	138
Kaapverdië
	Praia	97	89
	Others	135	73
Kameroen
	Yaounde	164	128
	Others	105	56
Kazachstan
	Nur-Sultan	178	100
	Aktau	80	68
	Aktobe	58	60
	Almaty	385	124
	Atyrau	251	81
	Schuchinsk-Burabay	99	84
	Shymkent	190	78
	Turkestan	90	51
	Ust-Kamenogorsk	84	56
	Others	61	52
Kenia
	Nairobi	244	101
	Others	256	78
Kirgistan
	Bishkek	202	84
	Others	155	42
Kiribati
	Kiritimati (Christmaseiland)	77	29
	Others	80	43
Koeweit
	Koeweit-Stad	418	181
Kosovo
	All cities	87	56
Kroatië
	Zagreb	241	189
	Brijuni	132	84
	Dubrovnik	191	138
	Opatija	168	168
	Sibenik	163	127
	Split	204	120
	Zadar	158	129
	Others	137	74
Laos
	Vientiane	124	106
	Others	103	74
Lesotho
	Maseru	138	57
	Others	204	46
Letland
	Riga	117	88
	Others	121	74
Libanon
	Beiroet	311	154
	Others	200	90
Liberia
	Monrovia	169	73
	Others	126	47
Libië
	Tripoli	248	93
	Others	112	66
Litouwen
	Vilnius	117	72
	Others	80	47
Luxemburg
	All cities	262	135
Maagdeneilanden (Amerikaanse)
	All cities	386	152
Maagdeneilanden (Britse)
	All cities	236	122
Madagascar
	Antananarivo	192	104
	Others	299	62
Malawi
	Lilongwe	119	76
	Others	162	71
Malediven
	Malé	388	160
	Others	335	69
Maleisië
	Kuala Lumpur	106	74
	Others	123	55
Mali
	Bamako	171	109
	Others	50	44
Malta
	Alle steden	145	89
Marokko
	Rabat	191	138
	Others	286	93
Marshall Eilanden
	Majuro	131	91
	Others	130	108
Mauritanië
	Nouakchott	141	64
	Others	76	45
Mauritius
	Port Louis	142	77
	Others	83	51
Mexico
	Mexico-Stad	242	114
	Others	286	85
Micronesië
	Truk	133	109
	Others	164	91
Moldavië
	Chisinau	164	59
	Others	96	60
Monaco
	All cities	215	102
Mongolië
	Ulaanbaatar	142	74
	Others	62	32
Montenegro
	Podgorica	117	69
	Bar, Becici, Budva, Kotor, Svet Stefan, Petrovac, Tivat, Herceg Novi en Ulcinj	113	59
	Kolasin	92	28
	Others	59	32
Montserrat
	All cities	139	75
Mozambique
	Maputo	192	113
	Others	179	101
Myanmar
	Naypyitaw	72	72
	Others	233	52
Namibië
	Windhoek	117	51
	Others	233	47
Nauru
	All cities	109	73
Nepal
	Kathmandu	214	126
	Others	84	31
Nicaragua
	Managua	115	65
	Others	113	48
Nieuw-Caledonië
	All cities	197	93
Nieuw-Zeeland
	Auckland en Wellington	191	112
	Others	171	100
Niger
	Niamey	171	88
	Others	64	40
Nigeria
	Abuja	184	95
	Others	214	66
Niue
	All cities	119	97
Noord Macedonië
	Skopje	125	65
	Ohrid en Struga	69	37
	Others	56	33
Noord-Korea
	Pyongyang	189	67
	Others	66	34
Noorwegen
	All cities	182	137
Oeganda
	Kampala	398	122
	Others	233	55
Oekraïne
	Kiev	237	123
	Others	126	62
Oezbekistan
	Tashkent	160	103
	Others	107	36
Oman
	Muscat	174	116
	Others	156	100
Oostenrijk
	All cities	130	152
Oost-Timor
	Dili	143	65
	Others	94	47
Pakistan
	Islamabad	239	62
	Others	130	33
Palau
	All cities	190	107
Panama
	Panamá	120	110
	Others	178	124
Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea
	Port Moresby	224	101
	Others	185	75
Paraguay
	Asunción	104	100
	Others	100	87
Peru
	Lima	190	102
	Others	163	71
Polen
	Warsaw	143	84
	Others	135	83
Portugal
	Lissabon	175	99
	Others	176	93
Qatar
	Doha	217	127
Roemenië
	Boekarest	158	85
	Brasov, Constanta, Mamaia en Timisoara	126	68
	Cluj en Sibiu	99	61
	Others	74	55
Rusland
	Moskou	262	135
	Astrachan	90	67
	Kaliningrad	110	71
	Moermansk	110	50
	Novosibirsk	100	61
	Samara	93	76
	Sochi	138	52
	St. Petersburg	139	63
	Tver	82	72
	Vladivostok	125	59
	Others	82	46
Rwanda
	Kigali	207	89
	Others	296	71
Saba
	All cities	179	114
Salomons Eilanden
	Honiara	327	148
	Others	117	73
Samoa
	Apia, Upolu	287	98
	Others	190	70
Sao Tomé en Principe
	Sao Tomé	257	122
	Others	252	94
Saoedi-Arabië
	Riyad	239	147
	Others	271	192
Senegal
	Dakar	197	131
	Others	163	57
Servië
	Belgrado	108	95
	Others	79	43
Seychellen
	Victoria	169	132
	Others	206	132
Sierra Leone
	Freetown	283	91
	Others	88	38
Singapore
	All cities	235	144
Sint Eustatius
	All cities	179	114
Sint Maarten
	All cities	179	114
Slovenië
	All cities	119	124
Slowakije
	Bratislava	131	74
	Others	115	62
Soedan
	Khartoum	198	78
	Others	105	53
Somalië
	Mogadishu	159	49
	Others	191	46
Spanje
	Madrid	172	105
	Barcelona	174	90
	Las Palmas, Canarische Eilanden	116	95
	San Sebastian	236	122
	Valencia	160	94
	Others	119	80
Sri Lanka
	Colombo	152	66
	Others	48	16
St. Lucia
	All cities	306	165
St. Vincent en Grenada
	All cities	162	95
St.Kitts en Nevis
	All cities	255	170
Suriname
	Paramaribo	129	76
	Others	85	44
Syrië
	Damascus	258	140
	Others	125	59
Tadzjikistan
	Dushanbe	99	66
	Others	64	33
Taipei
	Taipei	171	118
Tanzania
	Dar es Salaam	199	103
	Others	325	83
Thailand
	Bangkok	112	88
	Others	133	58
Togo
	Lomé	199	127
	Others	62	43
Tokelau Eilanden
	All cities	22	75
Tonga
	Nuku’Alofa	149	67
	Others	77	30
Trinidad en Tobago
	Trinidad	200	138
	Others	226	132
Tsjaad
	Ndjamena	87	56
	Others	136	72
Tsjechië
	Praag	136	67
	Brno	106	55
	Cesky Krumlov	137	51
	Karlovy Vary	156	64
	Ostrava	114	45
	Others	78	31
Tunesië
	Tunis	143	74
	Others	67	45
Turkije
	Ankara	118	59
	Antalya	135	64
	Istanbul	153	106
	Izmir	116	81
	Others	56	42
Turkmenistan
	Asjchabad	123	151
	Others	101	101
Turks- en Caicos Eilanden
	Grand Turk	256	132
	Others	393	147
Tuvalu
	All cities	122	53
Uruguay
	Montevideo	123	67
	Colonia	124	64
	Punta Del Este	219	91
	Salto	128	63
	Others	69	46
Vanuatu
	Port Villa	202	119
	Others	181	74
Venezuela
	Caracas	92	78
	Others	112	70
Verenigde Arabische Emiraten
	Abu Dhabi	208	163
	Others	253	145
Verenigde Staten van Amerika
	Washington D.C.	239	166
	Boston	255	144
	Chicago	226	117
	Honolulu	273	118
	Los Angeles	255	121
	Miami	214	115
	New York	585	199
	Philadelphia	213	120
	San Francisco	302	143
	Others	213	110
Vietnam
	Hanoi	117	58
	Others	111	40
Westbank en Gazastrook
	Jericho	126	84
	Gazastrook	103	66
	Others	89	76
Westelijke Sahara
	Laayoune	67	49
Zambia
	Lusaka	283	78
	Others	237	48
Zimbabwe
	Harare	173	89
	Others	467	74
Zuid-Afrika
	Pretoria	97	38
	Bloemfontein	81	50
	Kaapstad	114	57
	Durban	110	54
	East London	123	56
	Johannesburg	156	71
	Johannesburg-Sandton	284	87
	Magaliesburg en Muldersdrift	130	44
	Musina	55	58
	Polokwane	67	39
	Sun City	176	48
	Others	53	31
Zuid-Korea
	Seoul	166	90
	Others	166	88
Zuid-Soedan
	Juba	89	40
	Others	207	53
Zweden
	Stockholm	227	94
	Others	174	94
Zwitserland
	All cities	213	154

 

Source: CAO Rijk Bijlage 8 

You can find the rates applicable from 1 July 2022 – 31 December 2022 here.