Table of contents

Domestic business trips
International business trips

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.

In Rydoo, you can set up deductions, so users can deduct from per diem. 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).

You can easily download the per diem list for Belgium in Rydoo. Learn more.

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