(2021)
What applies to business trips abroad?
There are some special tax regulations for off-site work abroad:
(1) Meal allowances: These vary depending on the country. Special rates are set for particularly expensive cities. The allowances are derived from the Federal Travel Expenses Act and are announced by the Federal Ministry of Finance from time to time.
- For each full day of absence, the country-specific meal allowance is 120%, and for days with an absence of more than 8 hours as well as on arrival and departure days, it is 80% of the highest foreign daily allowances.
(2) In-flight meals: In-flight meals are usually included in the flight price. If the invoice for the flight ticket is issued to the employer and reimbursed by them, the following applies:
- Until 2014, you could deduct the full meal allowances as business expenses or have them reimbursed tax-free by the employer, even if in-flight meals were provided free of charge. The flight costs did not need to be reduced by the meal portion and could also be claimed in full. You also did not have to pay tax on a monetary benefit for the free meal.
- From 2015, free in-flight meals are considered a "meal provided by the employer". This means that the meal allowance must be reduced by 40% for lunch or dinner and by 20% for breakfast. The reduction of the meal allowance does not apply if it is clear from the chosen transport tariff that it is a pure transport service with no free meals provided.
(3) Multiple countries: If you visit several countries during your off-site work, the meal allowance is always based on the country you reach last before 24:00 local time. On the return day, the country where you last worked is decisive - not Germany. This also applies if you continue your off-site work in Germany, for example, by visiting a customer in Germany.
(4) Overnight allowances: For overnight stays abroad, the country-specific overnight allowances can no longer be deducted as business expenses but can only be reimbursed tax-free by the employer. If the off-site work abroad has lasted longer than four years since 2014, there is no limit on the deductible accommodation costs to 1.000 Euro per month for the 48 months, unlike in Germany.
Lohnsteuer kompakt
Currently, the Federal Fiscal Court has ruled that meal allowances must also be reduced for employees without a "first place of work" if the employer provides them with free meals (BFH ruling of 12.07.2021, VI R 27/19).
The case: A ship's officer receives free meals on board from the employer. In the payroll statements, the employer showed these meals as tax-free benefits in kind. On "port days", the officer did not always take advantage of the provided on-board meals. On some days, the crew had to cater for themselves in ports. The officer claimed meal allowances for 206 days as business expenses.
According to the BFH, the officer is only entitled to meal allowances for the days on which the employer did not provide him with meals on port days. For all other days, the deduction is excluded, as breakfast, lunch, and dinner were provided free of charge on those days.
Lohnsteuer kompakt
Currently, the Düsseldorf Fiscal Court has ruled that no taxable wages are granted to flight personnel through the provision of meals if the flight lasts longer than six hours (ruling of 13.08.2020, 14 K 2158/16 L). The facts: An airline provided its flight personnel with free meals on long-haul flights and on medium-haul flights when the flight time with short "turn-around times" exceeded six hours.
These were apparently the typical catering meals. The tax office argued that the free provision of meals was taxable wages. However, the corresponding lawsuit was successful. Reason: The free meals were provided predominantly in the employer's operational interest. They were not a reward for the personnel's work performance.
The extraordinary working conditions on board an aircraft, characterised by the tight schedule in air traffic and the cramped environment in the aircraft, had to be taken into account. The provision of meals primarily served to ensure a smooth and efficient process during flight times and "turn-around times". Furthermore, the judges stated that the airline was legally obliged to provide the crew with the opportunity to have meals and drinks if the flight duty time exceeded six hours.
