Netherlands Per diem

 

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 July 2023 – 31 December 2023)

Country	City	Maximum amount accommodation costs (in €)	Amount other costs (in €)
Afghanistan
	Kabul	190	86
	Others	55	31
Albanië
	Tirana	180	74
	Others	199	55
Algerije
	Algiers	233	116
	Others	236	76
Andorra
	All cities	111	87
Angola
	Luanda	273	108
	Others	116	48
Anguilla
	All cities	310	161
Antigua en Barbuda
	Antigua	258	128
	Others	143	88
Argentinië
	Buenos Aires	142	91
	Others	173	52
Armenië
	Yerevan	387	175
	Others	92	67
Aruba
	All cities	227	133
Australië
	Canberra, Melbourne en Sydney	193	109
	Others	191	95
Azerbeidzjan
	Bakoe	129	82
	Others	58	40
Bahamas
	All cities	227	145
Bahrein
	Manama	290	170
Bangladesh
	Dhaka	192	108
	Others	122	51
Barbados
	All cities	273	160
Belarus
	Minsk	155	95
	Others	64	55
België
	All cities	373	154
Belize
	Belize-Stad	129	82
	Others	225	114
Benin
	Cotonou	215	89
	Others	104	50
Bermuda
	All cities	342	122
Bhutan
	Thimphu	286	93
	Others	184	47
Bolivia
	La Paz	84	77
	Others	73	49
Bonaire
	All cities	160	102
Bosnië en Herzegovina
	Sarajevo	147	53
	Banja Luka	67	41
	Bihac	51	36
	Jahorina en Vlasic	80	34
	Mostar	47	42
	All cities	45	34
Botswana
	Gaborone	98	55
	Others	142	51
Brazilië
	Brasilia	94	55
	Belém	69	57
	Belo Horizonte	61	46
	Boa Vista	65	51
	Curitiba	65	49
	Florianopolis	90	41
	Fortaleza	57	49
	Joao Pessoa	72	66
	Manaus	53	55
	Paraty	129	93
	Penedo	128	82
	Porto Alegre	76	41
	Rio de Janeiro	122	61
	Sao Paulo	83	55
	Sorocaba	88	84
	Vitória	73	51
	Others	53	47
Brunei
	All cities	112	61
Bulgarije
	Sofia	170	67
	Burgas, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora en Varna	49	37
	Others	39	32
Burkina Faso
	Ouagadougou	226	112
	Others	75	44
Burundi
	Bujumbura	131	91
	Others	210	73
Cambodja
	Phnom-Penh	329	186
	Others	397	83
Canada
	Ottawa	242	120
	Calgary	183	90
	Montreal	220	109
	Toronto	253	110
	Vancouver	249	113
	Others	171	88
Centraal-Afrikaanse Republiek
	Bangui	177	86
	Others	31	33
Chili
	Santiago	438	120
	Others	250	88
China
	Peking	135	79
	Changsha	77	80
	Chengdu	1115	65
	Dalian	99	56
	Guangzhou	103	81
	Guiyang	100	47
	Haikou	118	68
	Hangzhou	109	82
	Jinan	95	63
	Kunming	80	57
	Qingdao	109	70
	Sanya	106	79
	Shanghai	150	92
	Shenyang	87	55
	Shenzhen	119	73
	Tianjin	97	62
	Wu Han	92	70
	Xi’An	96	64
	Xiamen	109	70
	Others	81	59
China, Hong Kong
	Hong Kong	173	71
China, Macau
	Macau	105	46
Colombia
	Bogotá	79	22
	Others	75	19
Comoren
	Moroni	122	108
	Others	89	85
Congo-Brazaville
	Brazzaville	217	112
	Others	310	90
Congo-Kinshasa
	Kinshasa	288	149
	Others	139	59
Cookeilanden
	Rarotonga	180	110
	Others	242	111
Costa Rica
	San José	250	119
	Others	181	76
Cuba
	Havana	167	66
	Others	220	59
Curaçao
	All cities	174	116
Cyprus
	Nicosia	95	87
	Others	125	88
Denemarken
	All cities	199	138
Djibouti
	Djibouti	288	125
	Others	66	37
Dominica
	All cities	354	120
Dominicaanse Republiek
	Santo Domingo	127	92
	Others	260	73
Duitsland
	Berlijn	235	138
	Bonn	133	122
	Hamburg	255	200
	München	136	98
	Others	120	98
Ecuador
	Quito	182	117
	Others	138	80
Egypte
	Caïro	170	105
	Others	341	120
El Salvador
	San Salvador	123	89
	Others	71	58
Equatoriaal-Guinea
	Malabo	335	189
	Others	166	66
Eritrea
	Asmara	61	70
	Others	68	84
Estland
	All cities	104	116
Eswatini
	Mbabane	85	42
	Others	90	40
Ethiopië
	Addis Abeba	302	137
	Others	117	44
Fiji
	Suva	299	94
	Others	335	103
Filipijnen
	Manila	116	107
	Others	149	49
Finland
	Helsinki	173	120
	Others	158	105
Frankrijk
	Parijs	219	123
	Others	194	124
Gabon
	Libreville	290	157
	Others	214	78
Gambia
	Banjul	184	60
	Others	152	34
Georgië
	Tbilisi	186	73
	Batumi	135	67
	Others	84	56
Ghana
	Accra	279	138
	Others	139	82
Gibraltar
	All cities	111	60
Grenada
	All cities	251	77
Griekenland
	Athene	139	101
	Thessaloniki	81	87
	Others	86	65
Groot-Brittannië (en Noord-Ierland)
	Londen	258	128
	Others	166	102
Guam
	All cities	141	98
Guatemala
	Guatemala-Stad	145	109
	Others	91	57
Guinee
	Conakry	298	112
	Others	92	59
Guinee-Bissau
	Bissau	141	73
	Others	91	45
Guyana
	Georgetown	366	101
	Others	89	29
Haïti
	Port-au-Prince	236	112
	Others	161	78
Honduras
	Tegucigalpa	131	49
	La Ceiba	98	35
	Roatan	207	81
	San Pedro Sula	135	44
	Others	79	36
Hongarije
	Boedapest	151	85
	Visegrad	152	60
	Others	106	48
Ierland
	All cities	167	111
IJsland
	All cities	193	105
India
	Delhi	125	91
	Bengaluru	138	72
	Chandigarh	89	50
	Chennai	77	56
	Goa	120	60
	Hyderabad	81	52
	Jaipur	100	54
	Kolkata	80	56
	Mumbai	125	74
	Pune	91	51
	Srinagar	324	110
	Others	77	49
Indonesië
	Jakarta	291	104
	Ambon	63	40
	Balik Papan	56	40
	Bandung	80	49
	Bogor	53	51
	Denpasar en Badung	65	47
	Jayapura	73	38
	Makassar	49	51
	Medan	60	40
	Manado	59	50
	Nusa Dua	376	134
	Palu	64	32
	Surabaya	45	51
	Yogyakarta	70	45
	Others	57	33
Irak
	Bagdad	210	104
	Others	303	93
Iran
	Tehran	109	52
	Others	135	45
Israël
	Tel Aviv	241	114
	Eilat	194	80
	Haifa	179	97
	Herzliya	183	72
	Jeruzalem	153	98
	Tiberias	145	109
	Others	160	79
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	223	131
	Others	148	85
Jamaica
	Kingston	170	92
	Others	206	120
Japan
	Tokyo	387	168
	Fukuoka	154	83
	Hiroshima en Nagoya	126	74
	Kobe	154	90
	Kyoto	154	95
	Osaka	252	130
	Yokohama	193	114
	Others	113	58
Jemen
	Sanaa	192	87
	Others	170	58
Jordanië
	Amman	179	114
	Others	148	72
Kaaimaneilanden
	All cities	249	123
Kaapverdië
	Praia	97	89
	Others	136	74
Kameroen
	Yaounde	164	129
	Others	105	57
Kazachstan
	Astana	349	125
	Aktau	79	62
	Aktobe	72	56
	Almaty	366	118
	Atyrau	83	53
	Schuchinsk-Burabay	115	70
	Shymkent	71	60
	Turkestan	100	54
	Ust-Kamenogorsk	75	57
	Others	70	46
Kenia
	Nairobi	219	109
	Others	262	73
Kirgistan
	Bishkek	181	75
	Others	139	38
Kiribati
	Kiritimati (Christmaseiland)	72	27
	Others	74	41
Koeweit
	Koeweit-Stad	380	165
Kosovo
	All cities	97	59
Kroatië
	Zagreb	212	166
	Brijuni	116	74
	Dubrovnik	168	121
	Opatija	148	148
	Sibenik	143	112
	Split	180	106
	Zadar	139	114
	Others	120	65
Laos
	Vientiane	111	95
	Others	93	66
Lesotho
	Maseru	111	60
	Others	204	41
Letland
	Riga	117	88
	Others	121	74
Libanon
	Beiroet	156	122
	Others	243	112
Liberia
	Monrovia	152	72
	Others	142	58
Libië
	Tripoli	222	83
	Others	101	59
Litouwen
	Vilnius	117	72
	Others	80	47
Luxemburg
	All cities	275	142
Maagdeneilanden (Amerikaanse)
	All cities	346	136
Maagdeneilanden (Britse)
	All cities	241	161
Madagascar
	Antananarivo	172	93
	Others	268	56
Malawi
	Lilongwe	114	73
	Others	154	65
Malediven
	Malé	347	143
	Others	300	62
Maleisië
	Kuala Lumpur	100	69
	Others	116	51
Mali
	Bamako	171	109
	Others	50	45
Malta
	Alle steden	145	89
Marokko
	Rabat	185	134
	Others	277	90
Marshall Eilanden
	Majuro	117	81
	Others	116	96
Mauritanië
	Nouakchott	139	63
	Others	75	44
Mauritius
	Port Louis	129	70
	Others	76	47
Mexico
	Mexico-Stad	299	118
	Others	304	94
Micronesië
	Truk	119	97
	Others	146	82
Moldavië
	Chisinau	147	53
	Others	87	54
Monaco
	All cities	215	102
Mongolië
	Ulaanbaatar	127	66
	Others	56	29
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	124	67
Mozambique
	Maputo	172	101
	Others	160	90
Myanmar
	Naypyitaw	65	65
	Others	195	50
Namibië
	Windhoek	90	57
	Others	234	51
Nauru
	All cities	102	68
Nepal
	Kathmandu	192	113
	Others	76	27
Nicaragua
	Managua	103	58
	Others	101	43
Nieuw-Caledonië
	All cities	197	94
Nieuw-Zeeland
	Auckland en Wellington	188	111
	Others	168	99
Niger
	Niamey	172	89
	Others	64	40
Nigeria
	Abuja	156	81
	Others	181	56
Niue
	All cities	117	95
Noord Macedonië
	Skopje	112	58
	Ohrid en Struga	62	33
	Others	50	29
Noord-Korea
	Pyongyang	169	61
	Others	59	30
Noorwegen
	All cities	168	127
Oeganda
	Kampala	356	109
	Others	209	49
Oekraïne
	Kiev	213	110
	Others	113	56
Oezbekistan
	Tashkent	143	92
	Others	95	33
Oman
	Muscat	155	104
	Others	140	90
Oostenrijk
	All cities	130	152
Oost-Timor
	Dili	129	58
	Others	84	42
Pakistan
	Islamabad	216	59
	Others	139	35
Palau
	All cities	171	96
Panama
	Panamá	107	98
	Others	159	112
Papoea-Nieuw-Guinea
	Port Moresby	200	91
	Others	166	68
Paraguay
	Asunción	94	90
	Others	89	78
Peru
	Lima	169	92
	Others	145	64
Polen
	Warsaw	130	83
	Others	114	83
Portugal
	Lissabon	175	99
	Others	176	99
Qatar
	Doha	192	113
Roemenië
	Boekarest	151	85
	Brasov, Constanta, Mamaia en Timisoara	72	66
	Cluj en Sibiu	65	65
	Others	56	59
Rusland
	Moskou	199	183
	Astrachan	66	72
	Kaliningrad	94	93
	Moermansk	87	71
	Samara	90	44
	St. Petersburg	282	195
	Vladivostok	110	65
	Others	73	46
Rwanda
	Kigali	185	80
	Others	266	63
Saba
	All cities	160	102
Salomons Eilanden
	Honiara	287	130
	Others	102	64
Samoa
	Apia, Upolu	264	90
	Others	174	64
Sao Tomé en Principe
	Sao Tomé	126	81
	Others	297	69
Saoedi-Arabië
	Riyad	215	132
	Others	243	172
Senegal
	Dakar	198	132
	Others	163	57
Servië
	Belgrado	118	100
	Others	75	47
Seychellen
	Victoria	152	119
Sierra Leone
	Freetown	253	82
	Others	79	33
Singapore
	All cities	227	139
Sint Eustatius
	All cities	160	102
Sint Maarten
	All cities	160	102
Slovenië
	All cities	119	124
Slowakije
	Bratislava	131	74
	Others	115	62
Soedan
	Khartoum	225	116
	Others	98	83
Somalië
	Mogadishu	143	44
	Others	170	41
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	109	64
	Others	87	31
St. Lucia
	All cities	269	172
St. Vincent en Grenada
	All cities	161	83
St.Kitts en Nevis
	All cities	273	98
Suriname
	Paramaribo	116	68
	Others	76	39
Syrië
	Damascus	409	112
	Others	118	65
Tadzjikistan
	Dushanbe	89	59
	Others	57	29
Taipei
	Taipei	184	127
Tanzania
	Dar es Salaam	195	93
	Others	291	88
Thailand
	Bangkok	112	88
	Others	133	58
Togo
	Lomé	143	127
	Others	92	50
Tokelau Eilanden
	All cities	21	74
Tonga
	Nuku’Alofa	135	61
	Others	71	28
Trinidad en Tobago
	Trinidad	178	118
	Others	203	132
Tsjaad
	Ndjamena	87	56
	Others	137	72
Tsjechië
	Praag	142	62
	Brno	110	45
	Cesky Krumlov	120	47
	Karlovy Vary	173	82
	Ostrava	106	44
	Others	81	33
Tunesië
	Tunis	137	71
	Others	64	43
Turkije
	Ankara	117	103
	Antalya	125	106
	Gaziantep	94	77
	Istanbul	211	130
	Izmir	148	83
	Others	86	62
Turkmenistan
	Asjchabad	123	156
	Others	86	110
Turks- en Caicos Eilanden
	Grand Turk	229	119
	Others	352	132
Tuvalu
	All cities	114	49
Uruguay
	Montevideo	133	75
	Colonia	161	67
	Punta Del Este	203	105
	Salto	122	69
	Others	59	43
Vanuatu
	Port Villa	187	110
	Others	166	69
Venezuela
	Caracas	82	70
	Others	101	62
Verenigde Arabische Emiraten
	Abu Dhabi	186	146
	Others	226	130
Verenigde Staten van Amerika
	Washington D.C.	214	149
	Boston	228	129
	Chicago	202	105
	Honolulu	244	106
	Los Angeles	229	109
	Miami	192	103
	New York	524	178
	Philadelphia	192	108
	San Francisco	271	128
	Others	191	99
Vietnam
	Hanoi	105	36
	Others	99	40
Westbank en Gazastrook
	Jericho	113	75
	Gazastrook	93	59
	Others	80	68
Westelijke Sahara
	Laayoune	66	47
Zambia
	Lusaka	254	70
	Others	212	43
Zimbabwe
	Harare	154	80
	Others	418	66
Zuid-Afrika
	Pretoria	88	35
	Bloemfontein	73	45
	Kaapstad	103	51
	Durban	100	50
	East London	111	50
	Johannesburg	142	64
	Johannesburg-Sandton	257	79
	Magaliesburg en Muldersdrift	118	40
	Musina	50	52
	Polokwane	61	36
	Sun City	159	44
	Others	48	28
Zuid-Korea
	Seoul	476	317
	Others	418	144
Zuid-Soedan
	Juba	80	36
	Others	186	48
Zweden
	Stockholm	221	91
	Others	169	91
Zwitserland
	All cities	207	150

Source: CAO Rijk Bijlage 8