With effect from 1 January 2014, extensive changes to the tax law on travel expensescame into force. Paper forms, Excel spreadsheets and hand-knitted travel expense solutions will have finally become obsolete by then at the latest. The complicated travel expense law in Germany often leads to errors in the manual calculation of lump sums and deadlines. The new travel expenses law does not provide a remedy – but some things will change.
The complex legislative changes affect the following areas, among others:
- Meal allowances: Due to the legal changes to the lump sum amounts for additional meal expenses, two different calculation models will have to be deposited for one-day and multi-day business trips in the future. Instead of the previous three-tier model (€8, €12 and €24), there will only be a two-tier scale (€12 and €24) from 2014. The smallest amount is simply omitted. For the period of absence, a distinction is only made between one-day and multi-day business trips. In the case of one-day business trips, an absence of more than eight hours and in the case of business trips lasting several days can be charged at 12 euros each for the day of arrival and departure (without minimum length of absence) in Germany, and two-thirds abroad of the respective daily allowance abroad. For a full 24 hours of absence, 24 euros continue to apply in Germany, and the full daily allowance abroad abroad.
|
One-day trips |
from 8h = 12€ |
14 – 24h = 24€ |
|
Multi-day trips |
Arrival and departure day (hours irrelevant) = 12€ |
Full day = 24€ |
- Travel expenses: The term “regular place of work” is replaced by the term “first place of work”. This has an impact on the tax-free reimbursement of travel expenses as well as on the taxable benefits of use of company cars.
- Accommodation costs: For accommodation costs for longer work-related activities away from home, the length of stay that can be credited for income-related expenses as well as the maximum amount to be applied thereafter to claim double housekeeping will change.
- Meals: From 2014, new taxation rules will apply to meals provided by the employer.
For further information, our travel expense specialists will be happy to assist you. Contact: Travel expense report
Image Credit: Fotolia.com, Photographer: Daniel Ernst
