Per diem
Meal allowances, even tripping, tripping or (day) called expenses, including the additional costs to be borne by a person because she is staying for business reasons outside the home and outside the normal place of work and therefore not as low as can cater at home. Lump sums for meal allowances are generally called subsistence allowance. The job-related additional expenses for tax purposes may, under certain conditions as a business expense (§ 4 paragraph 5, sentence 1, No. 5 ITA ) or related expenses ( § 9, paragraph 4 Income Tax Act) be asserted. The costs of accommodation and other expenses during a business trip see travel expenses.
Standard amounts for meal allowances
Only when the meal allowances is causing professionally or for business, it is also tax deductible. Because the determination of which would be expensive, there are flat rate / lump sums. The German tax law provides for different long leave of absence and for different countries, respectively the standard amount for the meal allowances, the Board lump sum or food allowance. This lump sum is mandatory to recognize. Even if the costs are shown to be higher, only the lump-sum payments may be recognized. For VAT registered businesses, however, the pilot of the actual costs may be claimed.
Catering packages for business trips in Germany
For a business trip in Germany in 2014 food costs are recognized at the following amounts per calendar day since the beginning:
- Multi-day external activities 24 euros for each calendar day on which the employee from his apartment is available 24 hours absent,
- 12 euros each for the arrival and departure if the employee stayed at this, a subsequent or previous day outside his apartment, a minimum period of absence is not required
Decisive is the period of absence from the apartment and the regular place of work. Does someone on one calendar several missions by the absences in this calendar can be aggregated.
In case of location employment the employee has no regular place of work, so that only the length of absence from the apartment shall prevail. A full-time use of more than three months on the same of use is not considered to change the insert activity for this period. If an activity started after 16:00 clock and ends it before 08:00 clock the next calendar day without night, the entire period of absence is attributable to the calendar day which includes the vast absence.
By the end of 2013, food costs were applied to the following amounts per calendar day:
- € 24 for an absence of 24 hours,
- € 12 for an absence of less than 24 hours, but at least 14 hours,
- € 06 for an absence of less than 14 hours, but at least 08 hours ( § 4, paragraph 5, sentence 1 number 5, sentence 2 of the Income Tax Act ).
Catering packages for business travel abroad
For business trips abroad are dependent on the country of packages that are mostly on the domestic packages. For countries not listed, the amounts are to be reported for Luxembourg.
For business trips from domestic to foreign countries, the standard amount determined by the place which the taxpayer has recently reached before 24:00 local time clock. For day trips abroad and return day from abroad into the country, the flat of last resort activity abroad is relevant.
Replacement by the employer
When an employee receives his meal allowances by employers replaced, this replacement is tax-free up to the amount of tax allowable lump sum. Since 2010, the food and especially the breakfast which has paid for the employee, the employer must no longer be deducted. This is only true under certain conditions, such as when the employer has booked the hotel itself. Instead, meals can be taxed at the much lower property, reference values. The employer may be taxed in accordance with § 40 Section 2 Sentence 1 No. 4 of the Income Tax Act higher reimbursements with a flat income tax of 25%, unless they exceed the tax-free packages to more than 100 %. Any surplus will belong to the tax and social insurance contributions wage.