In Austria, employers can reimburse employees for business travel expenses, such as meals and accommodation. Per diem expenses in Austria are calculated using hourly-based rates. These reimbursements can be tax-free, provided they comply with specific conditions and statutory limits.
Specifics
The following guidelines outline important details and special cases related to per diem allowances in Austria:
Employees are entitled to a daily meal allowance for business trips lasting 24 hours. For shorter trips exceeding three hours, per diems can be claimed based on the "one-twelfth rule" as outlined in the Austrian Income Tax Act. Under this rule, a certain amount for meal allowance can be claimed for each commenced hour beyond the three-hour threshold.
If meals are provided during a trip abroad, the following reductions apply:
No reduction on the daily allowance if one meal is provided per day.
2/3 of the daily allowance to be deducted if two meals are provided.
If a business trip covers multiple regions - for example, within Austria and abroad, the international per diem rate usually applies. However, the total per diem for any single calendar day or 24-hour period cannot exceed the full daily allowance - for example, 12 out of 12 parts, or 4 out of 4.
Domestic trips
In Austria, different rates apply during a domestic business trip depending on the duration of the travel.
For example, an employee is traveling from Vienna to Graz in Austria 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. Austria.
Destination code. AUT-Graz
Currency. EUR
Less than 3 hours. 0
3 to 4 hours. 10
4 to 5 hours. 12,50
5 to 6 hours. 15
6 to 7 hours. 17,50
7 to 8 hours. 20
8 to 9 hours. 22,50
9 to 10 hours. 25
10 to 11 hours. 27,50
More than 11 hours. 30
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 0. 0. 0.
In this case, the system calculates the rates in the following way:
More than 11 hours: 30 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount, because this rate is applied if the employee stays in a city more than 11 hours, and in the current example they've spent 24 hours in the destination location, from July 14 10:00 AM until July 15 10:00 AM.
10 to 11 hours: 27,50 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount, because this rate is applied if the employee stays in a city between 10 and 11 hours, and in the current example they've spent 10 hours in the destination location, from July 15 10:00 AM until July 15 08:00 PM.
Breakfast: 0 EUR will be calculated for the per diem expense amount.
Lunch: 0 EUR will be calculated for the per diem expense amount.
Dinner: 0 EUR will be calculated for the per diem expense amount.
Trips abroad
The maximum rates for per diems for business trips abroad are defined in Austria's tax guidelines and differ depending on the country in which the business trip takes place.
For example, an employee is traveling from Vienna, Austria to Frankfurt, 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-Frankfurt
Currency. EUR
Less than 3 hours. 0
3 to 4 hours. 12
4 to 5 hours. 15
5 to 6 hours. 18
6 to 7 hours. 21
7 to 8 hours. 24
8 to 9 hours. 26
9 to 10 hours. 29
10 to 11 hours. 32
More than 11 hours. 35,3
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 0. 0. 0.
In this case, the system calculates the rates in the following way:
More than 11 hours: 35,3 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount, the employee spent 24 hours from July 16 03:00 AM until July 17 03:00 AM.
More than 11 hours: 35,3 EUR will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount, the employee spent 17 hours from July 17 03:00 AM until July 17 08:00 PM.
Breakfast: 0 EUR will be calculated for the per diem expense amount.
Lunch: 0 EUR will be calculated for the per diem expense amount.
Dinner: 0 EUR will be calculated for the per diem expense amount.