Subsistence calculator (UK)
Enter when the journey started and ended. For a journey in the UK the tool picks the HMRC benchmark band; for a stay abroad it counts the 24-hour periods and applies the city’s overseas scale rate.
- UK£5 · £10 · £25, since 6 Apr 2016
- AbroadHMRC overseas scale rates
- LawSI 2015/1948 · SI 2019/358
For information only. Not tax or legal advice; check with your accountant.
Spotted a wrong rate or result?
How it’s calculated
- 01In the UK, time away from home or the usual workplace sets the band: more than 5 hours £5, more than 10 hours £10, more than 15 hours and still travelling at 8pm £25.
- 02A £5 or £10 journey still going at 8pm adds a £10 supplement. A meal must be bought after the journey starts. A journey past midnight counts by its hours too; only the accommodation itself has no benchmark.
- 03Abroad, time runs from arrival at the airport or station to departure from the country. Each full 24 hours gets the 24-hour rate: room plus meals.
- 04What is left gets the 10-hour rate if it is more than 10 hours and the 5-hour rate if more than 5, plus a room if it includes a night. Room and meals stay in their own currencies.
UK over 15 h and at 8pm £25 over 10 h £10 (+ £10 at 8pm) over 5 h £5 (+ £10 at 8pm) Abroad full days × (room + meals) + rest over 10 h → 10-hour rate + rest over 5 h → 5-hour rate + room if the rest includes a night
Berlin, arriving Monday 10:00 and leaving Wednesday 18:00 (56 hours): 2 × (€72.00 + €167.50) + €22.00 = €501.00. The same stay in Istanbul: 2 × (₺188.00 + €136.00) + ₺74.00 = ₺450.00 and €272.00, kept apart.
Values used
| Journey | Meal allowance | With 8pm supplement | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| More than 5 hours | £5.00 | £15.00 | SI 2015/1948 · HMRC EIM30240 |
| More than 10 hours | £10.00 | £20.00 | SI 2015/1948 · HMRC EIM30240 |
| More than 15 hours, ongoing at 8pm | £25.00 | £25.00 | SI 2015/1948 · HMRC EIM30240 |
| City | Over 5 hours | Over 10 hours | 24 hours, meals | Room, per night |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | €22.00 | €65.50 | €72.00 | €167.50 |
| Ankara | ₺93.00 | ₺223.50 | ₺239.50 | €160.00 |
| Istanbul | ₺74.00 | ₺173.50 | ₺188.00 | €136.00 |
| Atlanta | $30.50 | $75.00 | $98.50 | $127.00 |
Benchmark: Income Tax (Approved Expenses) Regulations 2015 and HMRC EIM30240, unchanged since 6 April 2016. Overseas: HMRC’s table for employees travelling outside the UK. We read it as in force from 6 April 2019, but the page does not state that date; it was last updated on 26 March 2020. Not verified: whether exactly 5, 10 or 15 hours qualifies, as HMRC uses both “in excess of” and “or more”; the tool applies “more than” and flags the boundary. The tool covers four of the table’s 285 cities.
Questions
Every rate on this page is dated and sourced. When HMRC publishes a new table, we update the tool.
Contact us£5 for a journey of more than 5 hours, £10 for more than 10 hours and £25 for more than 15 hours still going at 8pm. A £5 or £10 journey still going at 8pm can take a further £10. The employer can pay less; anything above is taxable, with NIC, unless HMRC has agreed a bespoke rate.
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