Meal allowances (also known as additional expenses for meals or daily allowance) compensate for the higher cost of meals on a business trip. Spesenfuchs automatically determines the applicable allowance based on the destination and the daily details of your trip.
Allowances for trips within Germany
- €14 for a one-day trip with an absence of more than 8 hours
- €14 each for the day of arrival and the day of departure of a multi-day trip with an overnight stay, regardless of how long you are away on these days
- €28 for each day with an absence of 24 hours, i.e. for the days between arrival and departure
There is no tax-free allowance for a one-day trip of no more than 8 hours.
Example: A three-day trip with two overnight stays results in €14 + €28 + €14 = €56.
If a trip without an overnight stay spans two calendar days, the midnight rule applies.
Allowances for trips abroad
For trips abroad, the Federal Ministry of Finance sets two amounts for each country: a higher amount for days with an absence of 24 hours and a lower amount for the day of arrival and departure and for one-day trips with an absence of more than 8 hours. For some countries, there are separate amounts depending on the city. The Federal Ministry of Finance adjusts the amounts regularly.
If you travel to several countries during a trip, the allowance of the country you last reached before midnight applies for each day. Spesenfuchs automatically uses the amounts that apply in the travel period.
Reduction for meals provided
If you receive free meals from your employer, the daily allowance is reduced. The basis for the reduction is always the higher amount, i.e. €28 within Germany:
- Breakfast: 20 percent, i.e. €5.60
- Lunch: 40 percent, i.e. €11.20
- Dinner: 40 percent, i.e. €11.20
The reduction cannot exceed the allowance for the respective day. For more information, see Reductions in the per diems for meals.
Custom allowances
By default, Spesenfuchs uses the statutory allowances. If you want to pay higher or lower allowances, create a custom expense group.
Paying more than the allowance (double meal allowance)
In addition to the tax-free meal allowance, you may reimburse up to 100% of it, i.e. up to double the amount in total (Section 40(2) sentence 1 no. 4 of the German Income Tax Act, EStG). The employer taxes the excess amount at a flat rate of 25%. The employer pays this flat-rate tax, and the excess amount is exempt from social security contributions. Any amount above double the allowance must be taxed by the employee at their personal tax rate.
- Unreduced allowances: The unreduced allowances are what counts. Reductions for meals provided do not reduce the amount that can be taxed at a flat rate.
- Trips abroad: The rule also applies abroad. In this case, the tax-free allowance of the respective country is what counts.
Example: A trip within Germany lasts from Monday 9 a.m. to Wednesday 6 p.m. €14 + €28 + €14 = €56 are tax-free. You can pay up to €56 in addition, which is taxed at a flat rate of 25%. Together, this comes to up to €112.
How to set up the double meal allowance in Spesenfuchs:
- Create a custom expense group and select a percentage increase to 200% for the meal allowances.
- Assign the expense group to the people who are to receive the double allowance.
Spesenfuchs then automatically taxes the amount above 100% at a flat rate of 25%. No additional setting is required for this. The 200% refers to the unreduced allowance, so meals provided do not reduce the excess amount taxed at a flat rate. For trips abroad, the result is double the allowance of the respective country.
If you also reimburse travel or accommodation costs above the tax-free rates, you can additionally use the option 25% flat rate balance. Spesenfuchs then adds together the meal allowance, the travel allowance and the accommodation allowance of a trip if the tax-free amounts have not yet been fully used. For more information, see What does total calculation mean?