In Spain, employees are entitled to per diems to cover expenses such as meals, accommodation, and other costs incurred during business travel. Per diem expenses in Spain are calculated using daily-based rates.
Specifics
Per diem allowances are not considered part of regular pay and are therefore tax-free up to specific limits. The maximum tax-free amounts vary depending on whether the employee stays overnight during the trip or returns the same day.
A business trip is defined as travel to a different municipality from the employee’s usual workplace for work-related purposes. The employer must be able to justify the relevance of the trip. Tax-free per diem allowances can be provided for up to 9 months; beyond that period, they become subject to tax.
Domestic trips
For domestic business trips, per diem rates are determined by the length of the trip, which is measured by the total time the employee is away.
For example, an employee is traveling from Barcelona to Madrid in Spain and has filled in the following trip details:
In the Payhawk template, based on the data entered by the employee, the corresponding columns will be populated in the following way:
Destination. Spain
Destination code. ESP-Madrid
Currency. EUR
Half day. 26,67
First/Last day. 26,67
Full day. 53,34
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 10,67. 21,34. 21,34.
In this case, the system calculates the rates in the following way:
First/Last day: 53,34 EUR total will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount for the first and last day of the trip - July 1 and July 2, respectively.
Breakfast: 10,67 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Lunch: 21,34 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Dinner: 21,34 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Trips abroad
When employees travel internationally, different rates apply. The per diem allowance depends on the specific destination country.
For example, an employee is traveling from Madrid, Spain to Berlin, Germany and has filled in the following trip details:
In the Payhawk template, based on the data entered by the employee, the corresponding columns will be populated in the following way:
Destination. Germany
Destination code. DEU-Berlin
Currency. EUR
Half day. 14
First/Last day. 14
Full day. 28
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 5,6. 11,2. 11,2.
In this case, the system calculates the rates in the following way:
First/Last day: 28 EUR total will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount for the first and last day of the trip - July 8 and July 9, respectively.
Breakfast: 5,6 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Lunch: 11,2 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Dinner: 11,2 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.