Travel expenses 2026: is there a new per diem allowance?

What are additional meal expenses?

The term “additional meal expenses” (Verpflegungsmehraufwand) is generally used when employees are away from their workplace, the so-called first place of work, for professional reasons. When they are, they usually pay more for food and drink, because meals that are normally eaten at home and are therefore cheaper have to be eaten out during that period. This extra financial burden is given tax relief through the so-called per diem allowance.

How do you prove meal expenses?

Unlike travel costs and hotel costs, the expenses do not have to be proven. The date and time of departure, the purpose of the trip and the date and time of return are enough to be entitled to the per diem allowance.  

What is the per diem allowance?

The per diem allowance is therefore a legally fixed amount that employees deduct from their tax as income-related expenses. Alternatively, it can be claimed back from the employer as a travel expense claim. Employers are not obliged to cover these costs, though.

Who is entitled to the meal allowance?

If the employee is away from their first place of work for more than eight hours, the employer can claim the per diem allowance. The usual reasons for this are:

• Visits to customers or suppliers
• Trips to other company sites
• Training courses, conferences or trade shows

What can be claimed?

The rule is that all full meals can be covered by the per diem allowance or deducted from tax, meaning breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other outlays are excluded, such as the after-work beer or similar.

If meals are already included in the hotel price, however, or if employees are invited to a business dinner, for example, the corresponding amount of the additional meal expenses is reduced.

How high is the per diem allowance in 2026?

Additional meal expenses depend on the country you travel to, because costs vary widely from country to country. Different rules therefore apply to the per diem allowance.

In all cases, though, a distinction is made between trips of 8 and of 24 hours, departure and arrival days, and everything beyond that.

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The per diem allowance in Germany

In 2026 the same rate applies as in the years before:

• For trips of between 8 and 24 hours and on the arrival and departure day of multi-day trips, €14 may be claimed.
• From a stay of 24 hours, €28 may be applied.
• These rates are tax-free!
• If the employer reimburses higher meal costs that are set out in the company's own travel expense policy, tax is due.
• If, for example, a breakfast paid for by the employer is included in the hotel stay, or the business partner is invited to dinner, the relevant daily rate has to be reduced:
  • Breakfast 20%
  • Lunch or dinner: 40%

The per diem allowance abroad

Abroad, additional meal expenses depend heavily on the country you travel to. You should also look more closely at the location, because it can vary by location within the country as well. Higher amounts usually apply in major cities than in the countryside.

The exact rates for each country can be found here.

For arrival, departure or onward travel, though, it gets a little more complicated than within Germany:

• If employees travel abroad for just one day, the flat rate can be calculated for the last place where they stayed longer. This rule also applies to arrival and departure days.
• If arrival or departure is not connected to a work assignment but is only travel time, the flat rate of the place reached before midnight is applied.
• If the stay in the destination country lasts longer than 24 hours, however, the additional meal expenses apply for the place reached before midnight.

Examples

To illustrate both cases a little better, here is one example each for travel abroad and travel within Germany, with the relevant additional meal expenses:

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