For about two years now, an experiment has been operating in Russia – in some regions of the country, travelers are charged a so-called resort fee. Today we will talk about how to pay and take into account the resort fee when traveling for business.
What is a resort fee
Two years ago, a law introducing a resort tax (214-FZ) was adopted. This is an experiment that will last until December 31, 2022. Until this moment, the resort fee will be charged on the territory of four constituent entities of the Russian Federation:
- Republic of Crimea;
- Altai Territory;
- Krasnodar region;
- Stavropol region.
The point of introducing a resort fee is to obtain additional funds to maintain the infrastructure of those places where tourists come.
Who should pay the resort fee
By law, adult individuals who come to the territory covered by the fee and stay in premises “intended for temporary residence” for a period of more than 24 hours are required to pay a resort fee. That is, if a person lives in a hotel, he will have to pay a fee.
The size of the resort fee may vary from region to region, usually several tens of rubles per day. An important point: the fee is paid directly at the hotel where the person is staying upon departure – in our case, a business trip employee. Money will need to be paid before departure at the time of final payment.
Payment of the resort fee looks like this – this is not a fee for hotel services, therefore it is not included in the bill for accommodation, you will need to pay separately. This cannot be done in advance even when booking a room. It turns out that the employee will be forced to pay the resort fee himself and later receive a refund from the employer.
How to reimburse the resort fee after a business trip
In order for a company to reimburse an employee for the cost of paying a resort fee on a business trip, the employee will need to prove the expense. According to the rules at the hotel, he will have to be given a receipt for payment of the fee.
At the same time, it is important to make sure that the resort fee is allocated on a separate line in the hotel bill – otherwise it will not be possible to reimburse it.
Once the HR Administrator receives the invoice and fee receipt, he can easily write off the expenses in the travel expense column and process the reimbursement.
