The Settings tab under Per diem decides how your company calculates per diem, how it is paid out, what happens to meals paid with the company card, and how per diem is posted to accounting.
Where to find it
Click your avatar → Settings → Expense management → Expense Policy → Per diem → Settings. Rates and your own policy are on the Rates and Your policy tabs, and days spent outside the platform on Presence.
How the amount is calculated
- Your rate source is shown automatically from your company's country.
- We pay: either the official rate, or Pay a percentage of the official rate, for example 80%. The official figures don't change; the percentage is applied during calculation.
- Prorate first & last travel day: on departure and return days the employee travels for part of the day, so meals are paid partially, for example 75% in the US and the UK and the partial-day rate in Germany. It is on by default, because paying the full amount can make the difference taxable for the employee.
- Show converted amount: an approximate equivalent in your company currency next to the original rate. It is a reading aid only.
How per diem is paid out
- Reimburse: the whole allowance comes back with the next reimbursement.
- Trip card: the allowance is loaded onto the trip card for meals, and nothing is reimbursed.
- Trip card + remainder: meals are paid by card, and what is left of the allowance is reimbursed.
Meals paid with the company card
- Deduct automatically.
- Don't deduct.
- Propose to the approver: the day shows what the meal would deduct, and the approver decides.
Germany: flat 25% tax and DATEV
- Top up at a flat 25 % tax (Germany): the part of the allowance above the tax-free amount is taxed at a flat 25%, paid by the company, instead of going through payroll as income.
- Accounting / DATEV export: the client and consultant numbers, the account length, the fiscal-year start, the accounts for tax-free per diem, the taxable part, the flat 25% part, amounts owed to employees, trip-card clearing, flat-tax expense and flat-tax payable, and the church tax %. These are needed for the DATEV export. See Exporting expense reports to accounting: CSV and DATEV.
Who can change the settings
The Director, Top manager and Accountant. Other employees don't see this tab, but they can use the official rates reference to look up the allowance for a city.
FAQ
How do we pay per diem on a trip card? Choose Trip card under how per diem is paid out. To pay meals by card and reimburse the rest, choose Trip card + remainder.
Should card-paid meals reduce the per diem? You decide: Deduct automatically, Don't deduct, or Propose to the approver, who decides meal by meal.
What is the flat 25% tax option? In Germany, the part of the allowance above the tax-free amount is taxed at a flat 25%, paid by the company, instead of being taxed through payroll.
Can we pay less than the official rate? Yes. Use Pay a percentage of the official rate.
Related articles
- Per diem: daily allowances and the per diem calculator
- Per Diem: What It Is and Where the Rates Come From
- Per Diem Rates Reference
- Per Diem: Your Own Rate Table
- Per Diem in Trip Budgets and Expenses
- Per diem in an expense report: how each day is calculated
- Presence: counting days spent outside the platform
- Per diem report in Analytics
Still have questions? Message us in the support chat or at support@travel-code.com.