Per diem calculator (Germany)
Work out the tax-free meal allowance (Verpflegungsmehraufwand) for a business trip from Germany, day by day. Meals the employer provides are deducted, and if the employer pays a flat overnight amount instead of the hotel bill, that is added too.
- AbroadBMF letter of 5 Dec 2025
- At home€14 / €28
- Law§ 9 (4a) EStG
| Day | Rate | Meals provided | Reduction | Allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Arrival | €39.00 | — | €39.00 | |
| 02 Full day | €58.00 | — | €58.00 | |
| 03 Departure | €39.00 | — | €39.00 |
With the flat overnight amount the employee pays the hotel, so a hotel breakfast is not cut. A hotel breakfast reduces the allowance only when the hotel bill is on the company.
For information only. Not tax or legal advice; check with your accountant.
Spotted a wrong rate or result?
How it’s calculated
- 01Each calendar day of the trip gets a type: arrival, full day or departure. A trip with no overnight stay counts only if you are away for more than 8 hours.
- 02A full day away takes the full-day rate: €28 in Germany. Arrival and departure days, and day trips over 8 hours, take the partial rate: €14. Arrival and departure days need no minimum hours.
- 03Abroad, a day takes the rate of the place you reach before midnight, and the departure day the rate of the last place of work. A country not in the BMF table takes the Luxembourg rate; an overseas territory not listed takes the rate of its mother country.
- 04Each meal the employer provides cuts the day by a share of that place’s full-day rate: 20% for breakfast, 40% each for lunch and dinner. A day never goes below zero.
- 05If the employer pays a flat overnight amount instead of the hotel bill, each night adds the table’s overnight lump sum. Employees and the self-employed claiming costs themselves deduct the actual hotel bill instead.
- 06At the same place of work, the meal allowance applies only for the first three months. A break of at least four weeks starts a new three-month period.
Paris, 2 nights, flat overnight amount (no breakfast cut)
Mon arrival €39.00 = €39.00
Tue full day €58.00 = €58.00
Wed departure €39.00 = €39.00
meal allowance €136.00
Flat overnight 2 × €159.00 = €318.00
tax-free total €454.00Three days in Istanbul (arrival, full day, departure): €16 + €24 + €16 = €56. The same trip to İzmir: €29 + €44 + €29 = €102. In the 2026 table Istanbul has no row of its own and takes the rate for the rest of Türkiye.
Values used
| Place | Full day | Arrival, departure, over 8 h | Overnight | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany (domestic) | €28.00 | €14.00 | €20.00 | § 9 Abs. 4a EStG · R 9.7 Abs. 3 LStR |
| Türkiye – Ankara | €32.00 | €21.00 | €110.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Türkiye – İzmir | €44.00 | €29.00 | €120.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Türkiye – elsewhere, incl. Istanbul | €24.00 | €16.00 | €107.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Austria | €50.00 | €33.00 | €117.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Belgium | €59.00 | €40.00 | €141.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Denmark | €75.00 | €50.00 | €183.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| France – elsewhere | €53.00 | €36.00 | €105.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| France – Paris and suburbs | €58.00 | €39.00 | €159.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Italy – elsewhere | €42.00 | €28.00 | €150.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Italy – Milan | €42.00 | €28.00 | €191.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Italy – Rome | €48.00 | €32.00 | €150.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Luxembourg | €63.00 | €42.00 | €139.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Netherlands | €58.00 | €39.00 | €167.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Poland – elsewhere | €34.00 | €23.00 | €124.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Poland – Warsaw | €40.00 | €27.00 | €143.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Poland – Wrocław | €34.00 | €23.00 | €124.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Spain – Barcelona | €34.00 | €23.00 | €144.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Spain – Canary Islands | €36.00 | €24.00 | €103.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Spain – elsewhere | €34.00 | €23.00 | €103.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Spain – Madrid | €42.00 | €28.00 | €131.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Spain – Palma de Mallorca | €44.00 | €29.00 | €142.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Switzerland – Bern | €82.00 | €55.00 | €195.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Switzerland – elsewhere | €70.00 | €47.00 | €195.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| Switzerland – Geneva | €70.00 | €47.00 | €197.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| United Arab Emirates | €81.00 | €54.00 | €169.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| United Kingdom – elsewhere | €52.00 | €35.00 | €99.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| United Kingdom – London | €66.00 | €44.00 | €163.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| USA – elsewhere | €59.00 | €40.00 | €182.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
| USA – New York City | €66.00 | €44.00 | €308.00 | BMF 05.12.2025 |
Abroad: BMF letter of 5 Dec 2025 (IV C 5 - S 2353/00094/007/012), in force from 1 Jan 2026. The table shows a selection of rows; any country not in the BMF table takes the Luxembourg rate. At home: § 9 (4a) EStG, unchanged since 2020; the €20 domestic overnight amount is R 9.7 (3) LStR. With the flat overnight amount the employee pays the hotel, so a hotel breakfast is not a meal provided by the employer and is not cut (BMF letter of 25 Nov 2020, para. 64).
Questions
Every value on this page is dated and sourced. If something looks out of date, tell us.
Contact usIn Germany, €28 for a full day away and €14 for arrival and departure days or a day trip over 8 hours, unchanged since 2020. Abroad, the Federal Ministry of Finance sets a rate for each country and for some cities, updated every year.
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