D. Business trips
What reimbursements for business trips remain tax-exempt?
On business travels, the following reimbursements by the employer are not subject to wage tax:
- Travel costs (e.g. mileage allowance)
- Per-diem allowances
- Overnight accommodation costs
What is a business trip?
We speak of a business trip (short-distance business trip) if an employee works away from his/her duty station (office, workshop, factory, warehouse, etc.). We also speak of a business trip (long-distance business trip) if an employee has to work at such a distance for a longer period of time that he/she cannot reasonably be expected to return to his/her permanent domicile (family domicile) every day. In both cases, the employee travels on business at his/her employer's instructions. However, the distinction is important for the period of granting tax-exempt per-diem allowances.
Travel costs
Reimbursements of the actual travel costs (e.g. rail, air, taxi) are tax-exempt. When using one's private car, receipts of mileage allowance are tax-exempt. The mileage allowance amounts to the following sums:
| Vehicle | Mileage allowance 2024 | Mileage allowance 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger car | €0.42 | €0.50 |
| For each person taken along | €0.05 | €0.15 |
| Motorcycle | €0.24 | €0.50 |
| Bicycle | €0.38 | €0.50 |
The mileage allowance for passenger cars may be paid for a maximum of 30,000 km per year without any wage tax deductions. As a rule, a vehicle log must be kept if payment of the mileage allowance is to be tax-exempt. It must contain the following: Date, mileage reading, number of kilometres travelled on business per day, point of departure and destination, as well as purpose of each trip. No further tax-exempt travel costs may be paid in addition to the mileage allowance. The mileage allowance also covers the highway toll sticker, highway and tunnel toll payments, as well as parking charges. The bicycle mileage allowance is limited to 1,500 km (3,000 km from 2025).
Tax-exempt reimbursements for travel costs are separate from any per-diem entitlement.
What is the procedure for cost reimbursements concerning business trips beginning at one's place of residence?
If trips to a place of deployment commence directly at one's domicile in the majority of days in a calendar month, these are considered as trips between one's workplace and domicile as of the subsequent month, for which the transportation deduction or, if applicable, the lump sum for commuters may be claimed. These reimbursements are thus taxable from the subsequent month on.
Per-diem allowances
When travelling on business in Austria, a maximum per-diem allowance of €26.40 per day is tax-exempt (up to €30 from 2025). The business trip must last for more than three hours. From that duration on, one twelfth of €26.40 (i.e. €2.20 per hour) can be left tax-exempt for each commenced hour (one twelfth of €30, i.e. €2.50 per hour from 2025).
What is the tax procedure for per-diem allowances received for short-distance business trips?
If your short-distance business trips (up to 120 km, as a rule) always or quite regularly take you to the same location or several locations (e.g. a building site, a branch office) and the regulations for your wages (your collective agreement) offer no better solution, the period for receiving this allowance is limited. In this case, when returning home every day, your per-diem allowances are no longer tax-exempt once the external posting has become a new centre of activity. We speak of a new centre of activity if a person:
- spends more than five days running in one and the same location, or
- works at a workplace at regular intervals (once every week) and exceeds an initial phase of five days, or
- works repeatedly, but not regularly, at a workplace and exceeds an initial phase of 15 days during the calendar year, or
- works in the same assigned area (e.g. a district representative) for more than five days, or
- works as a driver (e.g. bus driver) along the same routes or lines for more than five days.
In such cases, tax-exempt per-diem allowances are granted only for the initial phase of 5 or 15 days. If the per-diem allowance is part of a collective agreement or a similar regulation on wages, the per-diem allowances continue to be tax-exempt, as part of the "one-twelfth rule" of the Austrian Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz), up to €26.40 per day (€2.20 for each commenced hour, minimum period: more than three hours), irrespective of whether the period or the type of the business trip establishes a new centre of activity. This applies to the following types of work (from 2025, up to €30 per day, €2.50 for each commenced hour, minimum period: more than three hours):
- Sales force
- Drivers
- Construction-site and assembly jobs
- Personnel leasing
- Temporary jobs at a place of deployment in another municipality for 6 months
- Travel allowances to members of the works council
What is the tax procedure for per-diem allowances received for long-distance business trips?
If you cannot reasonably be expected to return home to your permanent domicile (family domicile) every day (over 120 km, as a rule), tax-exempt per-diem allowances of up to €26.40 per day (€30 from 2025) may be paid when working at the same place for six months.
Overnight accommodation costs
The employer may pay tax-exempt reimbursements for the cost of overnight accommodation, including breakfast, against receipts for overnight stays in Austria. A lump sum of €15 per night is tax-exempt if no receipts are shown (€17 from 2025).
However, if no expenses are incurred for the overnight stay (e.g. accommodation is provided), no tax-exempt lump sum may be paid. Additional expenses (e.g. for breakfast) may be claimed at the tax office as income-related expenses. Without receipt, these costs are deemed to amount to €4.40 (€4.50 from 2025) for trips in Austria and €5.85 per overnight stay when travelling abroad.
Journeys abroad
The employer may pay tax-exempt per-diem allowances and accommodation allowances for trips abroad at the maximum rate applicable to foreign travel assignments of Federal employees. Tax-exempt reimbursements for overnight accommodation costs, including breakfast, may also be paid in the actually incurred amounts when producing a receipt. Below is the current list of per-diem and overnight accommodation allowances for the countries bordering on Austria, as well as the United States:
| Country* | Per-diem allowance | Accommodation allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | €35.30 | €27.90 |
| Italy | €35.80 | €27.90 |
| Liechtenstein | €30.70 | €18.10 |
| Switzerland | €36.80 | €32.70 |
| Slovakia | €27.90 | €15.90 |
| Slovenia | €31.00 | €23.30 |
| Czech Republic | €31.00 | €24.40 |
| Hungary | €26.60 | €26.60 |
| USA | €52.30 | €42.90 |
* Special rates apply to certain major cities (e.g. Rome, Milan, New York, or Washington) and border regions (e.g. Freilassing). You find the complete list of rates for business trips abroad in the Annex to the Austrian Wage Tax Guidelines 2002 at bmf.gv.at (Richtlinien/Guidelines, Lohnsteuerrichtlinien/Wage Tax Guidelines, Anhang/Annex).