When a company sends its employee on a work trip, it pays for his travel and accommodation. Also, for each day of the trip he is paid a salary in the amount of average daily earnings.
But in addition to this, the employee is paid a daily allowance – that is, a certain amount that covers possible expenses at the place of stay, for example, food and moving around the city. In this material we will talk about what is included in daily expenses on a business trip and how daily allowances are calculated on a business trip in Russia and abroad.
What are daily allowances for on a business trip?
Daily allowance is issued for the daily expenses of an employee on a business trip. These may include expenses for meals, travel from the hotel to the place of work, and any other expenses that the employee will need to make during a business trip.
At the same time, there is no need to agree in advance with the employer on what to spend the daily allowance on. There is also no need to report specific expenses in the advance report – the employee has the right to use the daily allowance at his own discretion.
How daily allowances are paid during a business trip
Daily allowance is accrued for the entire duration of the employee’s stay on a business trip, including the time on the road. This also includes weekends and holidays, days of downtime that did not arise through the fault of the business traveler, and in the event of an employee’s illness, the time he spent on sick leave.
Daily allowances for a business trip are calculated and issued before the start of the trip. Otherwise, the employer will have to compensate for the delayed payment, as in the case of delayed wages.
However, if the employee lives close to the destination and can return home every day, payment of daily allowance for a business trip is not provided, although they can be paid by agreement with the employer.
Amount of daily allowance for a business trip
Commercial enterprises have the right to determine the amount of daily allowance for their employees.
At the same time, there are minimum amounts of daily allowance that are not subject to personal income tax. In 2021 these amounts are:
— 700 rubles per day when traveling around Russia;
— 2500 rubles per day on foreign trips.
When traveling abroad, daily allowances are calculated depending on the location of the employee’s actual stay on a given day – that is, until he crosses the Russian border, daily allowances are calculated at the “domestic rate”.
Daily allowance for a day off on a business trip is paid in the same amount as for a working day.
