South Africa Per diem

Business travel often entails various expenses, and in South Africa, employers can reimburse employees for these costs through a subsistence allowance. These reimbursements are not considered part of the employee’s taxable income, provided they adhere to specified limits and conditions. The tax-free limits and conditions are detailed by the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

If an employer permits an employee to incur meal expenses while spending part of a day away from their usual workplace due to work-related duties, and reimburses these expenses upon submission of proof, such reimbursement is allowed up to the amount specified below. If you reimburse employees beyond the set limits, the excess amount will be considered part of the employee's taxable income.

Domestic business trip

For domestic trips, the tax-free limits are as follows:

In cases where an employee needs to be away from their usual place of work or employment for business purposes and provides evidence of their expenses to the employer, any reimbursement or advance for these incurred expenses will not be subject to taxation. This applies if the employee is authorized by their principal to incur these expenses for meals and other incidental costs during that part of the day, and the expenses do not exceed the following amounts:

International business trips

When the accommodation to which the allowance or advance relates is outside the Republic of South Africa, a specific daily amount for each country is considered to have been expended for each day or part of a day during which the employee is away from their usual place of residence. The specific amounts are detailed in the respective tables for the countries in which the accommodation is located.

List of international per diem rates:

• 2027 Foreign Subsistence Allowance – No changes.
• 2026 Foreign Subsistence Allowance – No changes.
• 2025 Foreign Subsistence Allowance – See changes – Legal Notice 4458 GG 50243 – Budget-2024 – Notice Subsistence allowance rates Overnight allowance 1 March 2024
• 2024 Foreign Subsistence Allowance (commencing 1 March 2024)
• 2023 Foreign Subsistence Allowance – No changes from 2020.
• 2022 Foreign Subsistence Allowance – No changes from 2020.
• 2021 Foreign Subsistence Allowance – No changes from last year.
• 2020 Foreign Subsistence Allowance
• 2019 Foreign Subsistence Allowance
• 2018 Foreign Subsistence Allowance
• 2017 Foreign Subsistence Allowance
• 2016 Foreign Subsistence Allowance
• 2015 Foreign Subsistence Allowance
• 2014 Foreign Subsistence Allowance