In Norway, employees on business trips can receive tax-free per diems to cover daily expenses such as meals and incidentals. These allowances are granted based on the duration of the trip and whether the travel occurs domestically or abroad. Per diem expenses in Norway are calculated using hourly-based rates.
Specifics
Below are additional guidelines and conditions related to the use of state per diem rates for business travel in Norway:
Employees can receive per diems for business trips that are over 15 km from home and longer than 6 hours.
Accommodation costs are normally reimbursed based on actual hotel bills. The employer must ensure lodging meets reasonable standards for safety, comfort, and communication within a sensible budget.
For international trips, the per diem is reduced by 25% starting on day 29 of a continuous stay.
Conditions for tax-free per diems
A per diem qualifies as tax-free, provided the following conditions are met:
The trip must be work-related.
The employee must stay overnight away from home.
The travel must last more than 6 hours.
Per diems are time-based, with different rates for trips lasting over 6 hours, 12 hours, or 24 hours. If meals are provided by the employer or included in accommodations, the per diem must be reduced accordingly.
Domestic trips
In Norway, different rates apply during a domestic business trip depending on the duration of the travel.
For example, an employee is traveling from Oslo to Bergen in Norway 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. Norway
Destination code. NOR-Bergen
Currency. NOK
Up to 6 hours. 0
6-12 hours. 200
12-24 hours. 400
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 80. 120. 200.
In this case, the system calculates the rates in the following way:
6-12 hours: 200 NOK will be calculated and included in the per diem expense, as the employee spent 11 hours from 9:00 AM until 8:00 PM on July 3.
Breakfast: 80 NOK will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Lunch: 120 NOK will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Dinner: 200 NOK will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Trips abroad
For international business trips, per diem rates vary by country and are set by Norwegian authorities.
For example, an employee is traveling from Oslo, Norway to Budapest, Hungary 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. Hungary
Destination code. HUN-Budapest
Currency. HUF
Up to 6 hours. 0
6-12 hours. 15137,5
12-24 hours. 30275
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 6055. 9082,5. 15137,5.
In this case, the system calculates the rates in the following way:
12-24 hours: 30275 HUF will be calculated and included in the per diem expense, as the employee spent 24 hours from July 4, 9:00 AM until July 5, 9:00 AM.
6-12 hours: 15137,5 HUF will be calculated and included in the per diem expense, as the employee spent 11 hours from July 5, 9:00 AM until July 5, 8:00 PM.
Breakfast: 6055 HUF will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Lunch: 9082,5 HUF will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.
Dinner: 15137,5 HUF will be calculated and included in the per diem expense amount.