How will employees be reimbursed for travel expenses?
Now employees both on business trips within the country and abroad will be able to reimburse travel expenses if they are delayed on their trip for personal reasons. Simply put, you can go on a business trip earlier or return from it a few days later if you need to stay for personal reasons. In this case, the employer will pay the cost of tickets (which would have to be purchased anyway, but for other dates). The main condition is that extra days on a business trip can fall on weekends, state days and holidays, but not on working days. For example, if a work trip is planned for three days - from Monday to Wednesday, then you can leave on Saturday or Sunday. And the employer will pay for the ticket.
If you do not provide supporting documents about travel expenses, the employer will reimburse only 0.1 of the base amount - 2.55 rubles.
But there is a nuance: housing costs and daily allowances for “extra” days will not be paid.
Another change: employers will be able to reimburse the costs of taxi trips, as well as car rentals abroad. But for this you need to provide supporting documents.
When traveling abroad, it is possible to use a taxi for transfer to the station, airport or pier, as well as from the station, airport or pier to the place of departure, destination and transfers on internal lines of railway, air, water, and road transport.
Hires do not need to be reimbursed for tickets provided by the host. In this case, the employee does not need to provide supporting documents to the employer.
There is also no need to pay money for travel if the posted worker is provided with means of transportation or has the right to free travel.
In Belarus, the amount of travel allowances throughout the country has been increased to 9 rubles per day, as well as to some countries. Previously, the daily allowance for a one-day business trip was 3.5 rubles, and for two-day and longer trips - 7 rubles per day.
The daily allowance for business trips to some countries has also changed. For example, for a work trip to Austria, they previously paid 50 euros of daily allowance, now it is 60. For Australia, this amount has increased from 70 to 90 Australian dollars.
If an employee goes on a business trip at the expense of the host party, which covers the costs of food and travel around the country, then the company does not need to pay per diem (except for the time spent on the road). During the time of travel, daily allowances are paid in full from the established norm.
The director of the enterprise was sent on a business trip to Soligorsk from August 23 to August 27, 2021 (5 calendar days). The advance payment is calculated for him in accordance with the internal labor regulations approved by order of the head of the organization. According to the rules, the norms of expenses for living outside the place of residence (per diem) for the management of the organization are 50% higher than the norms established by the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.
Before leaving for a business trip, the employee was given a cash advance in the amount to cover the cost of travel to and from the place of the business trip and daily allowance in the amount of 52.50 rubles. ((RUB 7.00 × 5 days) + (RUB 7.00 × 50% × 5 days)).
What taxes and deductions should be imposed on excess travel expenses?
The amount of daily allowance paid in excess of the norm is the employee’s income and is subject to income tax. Insurance contributions to the Social Security Fund and Belgosstrakh are not subject to insurance premiums.
The sources of regulation of labor and related relations (except for the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the Labor Code (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code) and other acts of labor legislation) are collective agreements, agreements and other local regulatory legal acts concluded and adopted in accordance with the law (Art. 7 TK).
At the same time, the employer has the right to establish additional labor and other guarantees for employees in comparison with labor legislation.
The amounts of reimbursement of expenses provided for in the collective agreement, agreement or by the employer cannot be lower than the amounts established for budgetary organizations (part four of Article 95 of the Labor Code).
Thus, the organization has the right to provide, at the expense of the organization’s profits in a local regulatory legal act, higher rates of travel expenses compared to the standards provided for by law.
For reference: a posted employee is reimbursed for daily allowance (covering additional expenses for living outside the place of residence (stay)) for each day he is on a business trip, including the time spent en route. The daily allowance amounts are established in para. 2 and 3 clause 1 of the resolution of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus dated June 16, 2016 No. 48 “On establishing the amount of reimbursement of expenses for business trips”:
– 7.00 rub. – for each day of a business trip;
– 3.50 rub. – during one-day business trips and business trips to an area from where it is possible to return to your place of residence (place of stay) every day.
Income tax
When a daily allowance is paid to an employee in excess of the norms established by law, the excess amount is subject to income tax. At the same time, the benefit according to sub-clause. 1.19 clause 1 art. 163 of the Tax Code does not apply.
The amount of excess daily allowance paid to the employee amounted to 17.50 rubles. (52.50 rub. – (7.00 rub. × 5 days)). It will be recognized as his income, subject to income tax, if the employee does not reimburse it within the established time frame or it is not withheld from the salary.
Important! In this case, the employer has the right to make a deduction order no later than 1 month from the date of expiration of the period established for the return of the advance payment, repayment of the debt, or from the date of the incorrectly calculated payment (Article 107 of the Labor Code).
Contributions to the Social Security Fund and Belgosstrakh
For compensation in order to reimburse employees for costs associated with the performance of their labor duties (documented expenses, including those reimbursed to the employee in excess of the norms established by law), provided for in Chapter. 9 of the Labor Code, contributions to the Social Security Fund and Belgosstrakh are not charged (clause 3 of List No. 115*).
_________________ *List of payments for which contributions for state social insurance are not charged, including professional pension insurance, to the budget of the state extra-budgetary fund for social protection of the population of the Republic of Belarus and for compulsory insurance against industrial accidents and occupational diseases to the Belarusian Republican Unitary Insurance enterprise "Belgosstrakh", approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated January 25, 1999 No. 115.
What has changed regarding reimbursement of living expenses?
The scheme for reimbursement of expenses for renting residential premises has also been changed: payments now depend on the locality. For example, in regional centers and Minsk the amount of compensation is now 50 rubles, in regional centers - 25 rubles, in other settlements - 20 rubles. In this case, business travelers do not need to provide supporting documents.
Supporting documents are only needed if the amount exceeds the established limits. But the amount of compensation in this case cannot exceed the cost of a single room in a hotel. This requirement applies to both business trips in Belarus and abroad. At the same time, in some countries the maximum limit for the amount that can be spent on accommodation has been raised. For example, for Austria - from 100 to 130 euros, for Argentina - from 120 to 135 dollars, for Bulgaria - from 90 to 105 euros.
Previously, expenses for renting accommodation on a business trip were reimbursed up to the cost of a single hotel room. But supporting documents were required. And if there were no documents confirming the payment of expenses for renting a living space, then 2.5 rubles were paid.
When the host or sending party pays or actually provides accommodation abroad, reimbursement of expenses for renting accommodation is not made.
Reimbursement of expenses for business trips within Belarus
The expert will answer questions regarding the procedure for issuing an advance when sending an employee on a business trip across the territory of Belarus, reimbursement of travel, accommodation, daily allowance and other expenses, documentary evidence of travel expenses, as well as existing restrictions on the amount of their reimbursement to the employee, etc. The conference is organized jointly with Ministry of Finance of Belarus with the support of YurSpektr LLC.
Participants: Olga Korolinskaya Consultant of the Department for Financing the Activities of State Bodies of the Ministry of Finance
Conference questions
Vasily, Minsk
Not long ago, the legislation in Belarus was changed, and now you can go on a business trip without a travel permit. Please explain how in this case we can confirm the fact that the employee was on a business trip?
Korolinskaya Olga
In accordance with Article 93 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus, as well as clause 2 of the Instruction on the procedure and amount of compensation for business trips within the Republic of Belarus, approved by Resolution of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus dated April 12, 2000 No. 35, sending employees on a business trip is formalized by order ( order) of the employer. The need to issue travel certificates to employees is determined by the employer, unless otherwise established by legislative acts. That is, those organizations for which special legislative acts do not establish the obligation to issue travel certificates independently decide on its issuance, taking into account the specific conditions of the business trip to which the employee is sent. Thus, this norm is advisory in nature. If a travel certificate is not issued, then the fact that the employee is on a business trip is confirmed by a travel order, as well as documents attached to the advance report (travel documents, receipts for accommodation, etc.).
Levkevich Ekaterina, specialist at YurSpectr LLC
Is it possible to issue an advance to pay expenses for parking vehicles and travel on toll roads to an employee sent on a business trip within the Republic of Belarus?
Korolinskaya Olga
Paragraph 7 of Instruction No. 35 establishes that the employer is obliged to give a posted employee a cash advance within the amounts due to pay the cost of travel to and from the place of business travel, expenses for renting living quarters and daily allowances. Costs for parking vehicles and travel on toll roads are included in other travel expenses, which may or may not be included. therefore, the employer is not obliged to give the employee an advance for these expenses.
Book Olga, specialist at YurSpectr LLC
Please tell me, is it possible to give an employee sent on a business trip within the Republic of Belarus an advance payment to pay the costs of traveling by regular public transport to a station, pier, or airport?
Korolinskaya Olga
According to paragraph 7 of Instruction No. 35, the employer is obliged to give the posted employee a cash advance, including to pay the cost of travel to the place of business travel and back. Travel costs to the station, pier, port are included in the costs of travel to the place of business travel and back, therefore The employer must also give the employee an advance for these expenses.
Pereverzeva Anna, Minsk
The employee is sent on a business trip across the territory of the Republic of Belarus in a personal car, which is used under an agreement for the use of a personal car for business purposes. Please explain whether an employee should be given an advance on travel expenses to pay for travel to and from the place of travel.
Korolinskaya Olga
If an employee is sent on a business trip in a personal car, which is used by the organization under a contract for the use of the car for official purposes, an advance payment for travel expenses is not issued to the employee, since in this case the posted employee is provided with the organization’s vehicle (subclause 4.1 of Instruction No. 35).
Svetlana Anatolyevna, Minsk
The employee is registered at his place of residence in Mogilev, and in Minsk he registers at his place of residence. Should an employee be given an advance for the cost of renting a living space when he is sent on a business trip from Minsk to Mogilev?
Korolinskaya Olga
Every citizen is required to register at his place of residence within the Republic of Belarus, and in case of temporary departure from his place of residence for a period of more than one month, he has the right to register at his place of stay (subclause 1.3 of Decree No. 413 dated 09/07/2007 “On improving the system of registration of citizens at the place of residence”) residence and place of stay” and clause 21 of the Regulations on registration of citizens at the place of residence and place of stay, approved by this decree). The procedure for reimbursement of these expenses depends on documentary evidence of the employee’s actual place of residence. When the employee confirms the fact of registration at the place of stay (in this case in Minsk), an advance payment for the costs of renting residential premises is issued in accordance with the generally established procedure. If the employee does not have registration in Minsk, then he should be given an advance only in the amount of travel expenses to the place of business trip and back, and daily allowance and expenses for renting living quarters in this case are not subject to reimbursement.
Pukhovskaya Natalya, specialist at Jurspectr LLC
Please explain in what amount should an employee be given an advance to reimburse the costs of renting a living space if it is planned that at the place of business trip he will live in an apartment rented to him by an individual entrepreneur? Is there a limit on the amount of advance that the organization must give to the employee for these expenses? If so, does the number of rooms in the rented apartment matter when applying this restriction?
Korolinskaya Olga
Reimbursement of these expenses is carried out by analogy with the expenses of staying in a hotel, namely: expenses for hiring from an individual entrepreneur either a one-room apartment, or one room in an apartment, or one place in a room are subject to reimbursement. Thus, the employer must provide an advance payment for renting a multi-room apartment from an individual entrepreneur in an amount not exceeding the cost of a single hotel room (subclause 4.2 of Instruction No. 35). In this case, the cost of a single regular hotel room is recommended to be determined in a hotel located directly at the place of business trip and at a short distance from the location of this apartment. An advance payment for renting a one-room apartment, one room in an apartment, one place in a room from an individual entrepreneur is issued in the amount of expected actual expenses.
Rodenya S.V.
Is an employee reimbursed for travel expenses in a minimum amount if he is sent on a business trip in a personal car used by an organization under a lease agreement, an agreement for gratuitous use, or an agreement for the use of a car for personal purposes?
Korolinskaya Olga
No, travel expenses in the minimum amount are not reimbursed in this case, since if the travel of a posted employee is provided by the organization’s vehicles, travel expenses as part of travel expenses are not subject to reimbursement (subclause 4.1 of Instruction No. 35).
Levkevich Ekaterina, specialist at YurSpectr LLC
The organization paid the hotel by bank transfer for the costs of renting accommodation for the posted worker. The bill for your stay includes the cost of breakfast provided by the hotel. Please tell me in what amount should the employee’s daily allowance be reimbursed - 100% or 50%?
Korolinskaya Olga
If the receiving or sending party pays for food, the daily allowance is paid in the amount of 50% of the established norm (subclause 4.3 of Instruction No. 35). Providing breakfast is an additional service provided by the hotel and does not apply to accommodation services (clause 2 of the Rules for hotel services in the Republic of Belarus, approved by Resolution of the Council of Ministers dated 04/07/2006 No. 471). Therefore, the cost of breakfast should not be included in the total hotel bill. However, the employer may decide to pay the employee for breakfast provided by the hotel. In this case, the decision to pay by bank transfer for breakfast is formalized in the order (instruction) for the business trip. If the order (instruction) for the employee’s business trip states that the employer pays for the employee’s food in the form of breakfast in a hotel, then, based on the norms of subclause 4.3 of Instruction No. 35, he must reimburse the employee’s daily allowance in the amount of 50% of the established norm.
Boris Izrailevich, Mogilev
Should an employee be reimbursed for travel expenses to and from the place of business travel by minibus that operates intercity flights?
Korolinskaya Olga
Each route of intra-republican automobile transportation of passengers in regular traffic is assigned a number indicating the type of message in the form of special characters. In particular, routes along which regular passenger transportation is carried out by M2 category buses (route taxis) are assigned the symbol “T” (clauses 36 and 47 of the Rules for the Road Transport of Passengers). Apparently, the question is about transportation by M2 category buses on a regular basis. When carrying out such transportation, the passenger is issued a ticket issued in accordance with the law, on the basis of which travel expenses are subject to reimbursement.
Olga Leonidovna, Rakov
Please explain whether it is necessary to give an employee an advance payment for the cost of renting living quarters and daily allowance if the employee’s place of business assignment coincides with his place of residence?
Korolinskaya Olga
Per diem is reimbursement of additional personal expenses of an employee for living outside his place of residence. Therefore, if an employee is sent to a locality that is his place of residence, then he is not paid per diem. In this case, the costs of renting a living space are not subject to compensation, since the employee lives at home. If the employee is registered at his place of stay in another locality (other than his place of residence), then he is reimbursed for all travel expenses in the generally established manner.
Belta
What has changed for international drivers
Some changes concern reimbursement of expenses when sending drivers on a business trip who carry out international road transport. The rules by which these specialists go on work trips are written down in a separate chapter. Here is the amount of compensation for living expenses and daily allowance without providing supporting documents:
- during your stay within Belarus - no more than five times the amount, but not less than one time the daily allowance (that is, from 9 to 45 rubles);
- for the time spent abroad - up to 150 euros inclusive, but not less than 25 euros.
In this case, the specific amount and procedure for calculating the total payment per day must be determined by the employer.
Payment of travel allowances: what has changed since September 7
Photo: mamamobil.ru The Council of Ministers made changes to the “Regulations on the procedure and amount of reimbursement of expenses, guarantees and compensation for business trips”, approved by Resolution No. 176 of March 19, 2019.
This was done by government decree No. 595 of September 4, 2021. It came into force on September 7, 2021. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection explained in its commentary what exactly has changed since this date.
The resolution stipulates that when sent on a business trip, travel expenses are reimbursed to the posted employee if he travels to the place of business trip or leaves it for personal purposes (that is, outside the period of the business trip specified in the order), not only on weekends, state and holidays established and declared by the President as non-working days, but also in the case when the date of departure to and return from the place of business trip coincides with the last and (or) first working day before the start and (or) after the end of the business trip.
The procedure for calculating the number of days for which a posted worker, without providing supporting documents, is given an advance payment for the cost of renting a living space has been changed. Namely, it is provided that the costs of renting residential premises without submitting supporting documents are compensated based on the number of nights during the period of stay at the place of business trip.
- For example. According to the order for a business trip, the employee was sent to Moscow for the period from June 12, 2021 to June 15, 2019. The employee arrives at the place of business trip on June 12, 2021 at 15.00 and departs from it on June 15, 2021 at 19.00. Thus, the number of nights during the period of stay at the place of business trip will be 3 nights. Therefore, the advance on rental costs will be $420.
At the same time, in cases where the actual costs of renting residential premises will exceed the amount of the advance payment issued without supporting documents, then reimbursement of these costs must be made on the basis of supporting documents in amounts not exceeding those established for the host country in Appendix 2 to the regulation, based on from the number of days (calendar days), and when traveling within the Republic of Belarus, not higher than the cost of a single room of the first category in a hotel in the locality where the employee is sent, or in a nearby locality if there is no hotel at the place of business trip.
- For reference. In accordance with subclause 3.2.2 of clause 3 of the state standard “Accommodation facilities. General requirements" STB 1353-2005, approved by Resolution of the State Committee for Standardization dated June 26, 2005 No. 28, first category room: a room in an accommodation facility, consisting of one living room with one/two beds, with a full bathroom (bath/shower, washbasin, toilet ), designed to accommodate one or two people. The standard is applied by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs providing services in accommodation facilities.
In addition, it is stipulated that for one-day business trips abroad, staying at the place of business trip for less than 12 hours (two-day or more business trips), both for business trips abroad and within Belarus, reimbursement of expenses for renting residential premises is made on the basis of confirming documents.
According to paragraph 17 of the regulation, when payment or actual provision of residential premises is made by the receiving or sending party, reimbursement of expenses for renting residential premises is not made.
At the same time, in order to establish the possibility for employers to regulate the amount of expenses for travel expenses, if it is impossible for the posted employee to be provided with living quarters by the employer or the receiving party at the place of business trip, it is determined that payment by the seconded employee of the costs of renting living quarters through an issued corporate bank card is recognized as payment by the sending party for the living quarters , including during a temporary stop along the way.
The provision was also supplemented with the rule that if the sending and (or) receiving party bears the costs associated with providing the posted worker with three meals a day, including breakfast, and transport within the business trip, then the sending party does not pay daily allowances, with the exception of daily allowance for the time spent on the road.
Payment of daily allowances is also not made if, according to the terms of the business trip, the location of the event coincides with the place of residence (hotel) of the posted worker (travel within the business trip is not required) and the worker is provided with three meals a day.
The provisions of Chapter 7 of the regulations apply not only to drivers engaged in international road transport, but also to drivers engaged in intra-republican road transport, with the exception of road transport by official and special passenger cars, vehicles of state bodies of the national security system and organizations located in their subordination.
Thus, the employer needs to develop a local legal act that will establish the amounts and, if necessary, criteria (calculation procedure) for establishing general payments (for business trips within Belarus and abroad). The total payment can be set either uniform for all countries of assignment or different.
Daily allowance
Employees who have an employment relationship with the employer are sent on business trips. The specifics of the procedure for sending employees on business trips are regulated by the Regulations approved by Government Decree No. 749 of October 13, 2008.
If an employee is sent on a business trip, the employer is obliged to reimburse him for additional expenses associated with living outside his place of permanent residence, that is, daily allowances.
The procedure and amount of reimbursement of expenses related to business trips to employees of commercial firms are determined by a collective agreement or local regulations.
For state employees, the daily allowance is established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated October 2, 2002 No. 729 and amounts to 100 rubles.
The organization determines the amount of daily allowance independently, fixing its amount in the local regulations of the organization, for example, in the Regulations on Business Travel.
The Tax Code provides for maximum daily allowances that are not subject to personal income tax (paragraph 12, clause 3, article 217 of the Tax Code) and insurance contributions (clause 2, article 422 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
In particular, the daily allowance in Russia is 700 rubles, abroad - 2500 rubles. That is, if an organization sets a daily allowance for Russia in the amount of 1000 rubles, then from 300 rubles (1000 - 700) the employer should withhold personal income tax and charge insurance premiums for this amount.
Everything about calculations for accountable amounts will be discussed at the seminar. It's coming soon, October 11 in Moscow. The lecturer is a cool practitioner, beloved by many Klimova M.A.
When registering through our website you get a discount.
Come! At the seminar they will also talk about how to properly process and defend expenses.
No report = personal income tax contributions
According to paragraph 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code, all types of compensation payments established by law, including reimbursement of travel expenses, are not subject to personal income tax.
Meanwhile, do not forget about such a nuance as an advance report.
Upon returning from a business trip, the employee is obliged to submit to the employer, within 3 working days, an advance report on the amounts spent in connection with the business trip and make a final payment on the cash advance issued to him before leaving for the business trip for travel expenses.
What if he didn't? Then the funds issued to an employee of the organization on account cannot be considered as payments made to reimburse travel expenses; accordingly, there are no grounds for applying to the income received the norms of paragraph 3 of Article 217 of the Tax Code on exemption from personal income tax for reimbursement of travel expenses.
This conclusion, in particular, is contained in the letter of the Ministry of Finance No. 03-04-06/5808 dated 02/01/2018.
The document also states that failure by the employee to submit an advance report on the amounts spent in connection with the business trip entails a violation of the requirements established by law, and in this case, payments made to the employee cannot be considered as reimbursement of expenses in connection with the business trip and are subject to insurance premiums in the generally established ok.
The new requirements for documentation for business trips (invoices from hotels, restaurants, taxis, parking) in connection with the new legal requirements on the use of cash register systems will be discussed at the seminar.
Daily allowance in 2021
The law does not establish limits on daily allowance payments to employees. The employer has the right to independently determine the amount of daily travel expenses in 2021 by local act. At the same time, they can be different for a manager and an ordinary employee.
At the legislative level, there are restrictions on the calculation of taxes and contributions. According to Art. 217 Tax Codes are not subject to tax; daily allowance rates for business trips in 2021:
- business trip within the Russian Federation – 700 rubles;
- business trip abroad – 2500 rubles.
Also, according to Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 729 of October 2, 2002, daily allowances for business trips in 2021 in commercial organizations cannot be less than the amount established for budgetary institutions. The minimum daily allowance is 100 rubles per day.
It turns out that the employer sets the amount of daily allowance for business trips in 2021 independently. But you shouldn’t forget about taxes.
If a posted employee in the Russian Federation is paid, for example, 500 rubles per day, there is no need to pay taxes. And when paying daily amounts in the Russian Federation, let’s assume 1400 rubles, from the amount (1400 – 700) = 700 rubles, you will have to pay insurance contributions to the Pension Fund and Social Insurance Fund, as well as personal income tax of 13%. Therefore, how to calculate daily allowance directly depends on the size of the amounts paid.
