Poland Per Diem

Employees in Poland are entitled to daily allowances as compensation for the expenses of meals and lodging when on a business trip. These daily allowances are called per diem. Per diem is not considered a part of the employee’s pay and is, thus tax-free up to a certain allowed amount. The employer can grant higher per diem than the rates below, however, the amount exceeding the rates is then considered part of the employee’s taxable income. The maximum amounts differ whether it is a business trip within Poland or abroad.

Maximum daily allowances

The maximum tax-free rates for domestic business trips are defined by the Ordinance of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. This Ordinance directly applies to public sector employees, but also establishes the minimum allowance levels for all other employees. Furthermore, these rates set the maximum tax-free limit for reimbursements. Employers may choose to reimburse employees at higher rates; however, any amount exceeding the set rate will be considered taxable income.

One day business trip

Multiple day business trip

If the journey lasts longer than 24 hours, the per diem rate constitutes a full allowance for each day , and for an incomplete but started day:

Deductions

If the employer provides the employee’s meals during the business trip or meals are provided free of charge, the allowance should be reduced.

Accommodation

The maximum reimbursement for accommodation such as a hotel during a business trip depends on whether the employee provides a supporting receipt/invoice or not. In case the employee provides a supporting receipt/invoice, the employer can reimburse the accommodation expenses up to 20 times the amount of the full allowance (PLN 900).

If the employee does not provide a supporting receipt/invoice, the employer can grant a maximum allowance of 150% of the full allowance (PLN 67,5).

Transport allowance

For each started day of the domestic trip, the employer can grant the employee a maximum tax-free allowance of 20% of the daily allowance (PLN 9 since 1 Jan. 2023). The employee is not entitled to the allowance if they don’t bear the costs of the local transport.

Maximum daily allowances

The maximum tax-free rates for business trips abroad are defined in the Ordinance of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy. The maximum amounts differ based on the destination country. Please find the list with the official maximum amounts below at the end of this article.

This Ordinance directly applies to public sector employees, but also establishes the maximum tax-free limit for all other employees. Employers may choose to reimburse employees at higher rates; however, any amount exceeding the set rate will be considered taxable income. Additionally, it is important to note that the minimum amount of the allowance for international business trips cannot be lower than the allowance for domestic business trips.

One day business trip

Multiple day business trip

If the journey lasts longer than 24 hours, the per diem rate constitutes a full allowance for each day , and for an incomplete but started day:

Deductions

If the employer provides the employee’s meals during the business trip or meals are provided free of charge, the allowance should be reduced.

Accommodation

Employers reimburse the amount the employee actually paid for the accommodation and is proven by a receipt/invoice, within the limits defined in the Regulation, as you can see in the list below.

If the employee does not present a receipt/invoice for the accommodation, he or she is entitled to a lump sum of 25% of the limit.

Transport allowance

To cover the costs of local transport, the employee is entitled to a maximum transport allowance of 10% of the daily allowance of the destination country for each commenced day.

Additionally, the employee is entitled to a maximum allowance of one time the daily allowance of the destination country to cover the costs of travel to and from the railway station, bus station, airport or seaport. If the employee bears these travel costs one way only, they are entitled to 50% of the daily allowance.

The employee is not entitled to the above transport allowances if they use a business or private motor vehicle, motorcycle or moped or if they do not bear the transport costs.

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International business trips: per diem rates list (applicable since 29 November 2022):

When traveling to:

• Gibraltar, the per diem allowance and the overnight allowance are the same as for travel to Great Britain
• Hong Kong, the per diem allowance is USD 55 and the per night allowance amount is USD 250,
• Taiwan the per diem allowance is EUR 40, and the per night allowance amount EUR 142.

Source: Ordinance of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy