Updated: April 2026
Using per diem rate guidelines for expenses is an effective way to compensate employees when they travel for business. However, each country has its own guidelines, and Austria’s are quite complex.
Understanding Austrian per diem guidelines is key to maintaining consistent, compliant, and accurate expense management. Let's dive into Austria’s per diem rules and answer the most important questions.
What are per diem rates for business travel?
Per diem rates for business travel refer to allowances that employers pay their employees to cover the costs of accommodation, meals, and incidental expenses incurred while travelling. They also help ease the administrative load for employees and finance departments by eliminating the need to submit individual receipts for expense reimbursements.
Governments usually set benchmark per diem allowances that account for factors like average maximum accommodation costs, the general cost of living, and any travel regulations. Per diem rates vary depending on the destination for business travel and sometimes where the company is based, including some major cities and business hubs.
Are per diem rates mandatory?
Businesses don’t have to follow per diem rates. They can decide whether to follow per diem guidelines, have employees submit expenses, or they can choose which per diem rates to follow.
For example, a company might use per diem rates for meals and incidental expenses, but implement its own corporate travel policy to set accommodation and flight costs.
What are the most important things to know about per diem rates in Austria?
Guidelines for per diem rates in Austria are set out in the Income Tax Act. However, before delving into per diem specifics, it’s important to note that companies in Austria are responsible for calculating wage tax, including reimbursed business expenses that could be considered taxable income.
Therefore, employers often pay employees allowances to cover work-related expenses they might incur. These allowances are typically managed through collective bargaining agreements that differ across industries and federal states.
Businesses must consider these facts when managing per diem rates to ensure compliance with industry standards and avoid any potential tax liabilities.
What expenses are covered by per diem rates in Austria?
The following travel expenses are not subject to income tax as long as certain conditions are met:
Transportation costs (in the form of a mileage allowance)
Per diem (meal) allowances
Accommodation costs
What expenses are not covered by per diem rates in Austria?
The Austrian per diem guidelines do not cover flight costs.
How are per diem rates in Austria calculated for domestic and international trips?
Per diem rates in Austria are fixed, maximum allowances for meals and accommodation costs. However, these allowances vary depending on several factors, such as whether the trip is domestic or international and the duration of the trip. Let’s take a look at some of the per diem Austria guidelines as set out in the 2024 Tax Book.
Per diem rates in Austria for domestic trips
For business trips within Austria, a maximum daily allowance of €26.40 per day is tax-exempt. The trip must last over three hours to qualify, and from that point onward, €2.20 (one-twelfth of €26.40) per commenced hour can remain tax-exempt.
However, according to Austria per diem guidelines, there are different limits depending on whether trips are classed as short- or long-distance.
Rules regarding short-distance business trips
Firstly, short-distance trips are classed as those under 120km. If these trips are taken regularly and to the same location, per diem allowances may no longer be tax-exempt after the site becomes an employee’s new “centre of activity”. This occurs if employees:
Spend more than five consecutive days at the same location
Work at the same place weekly after an initial five-day period
Work repeatedly at the same location after 15 days in a calendar year
Work as a driver along the same routes for more than five days
Basically, tax-exempt per diem allowances are limited to the initial five or 15 days, unless specified otherwise by a collective agreement.
Rules regarding long-distance business trips
If it’s not practical to return home every day (if the trip is more than 120km away), a maximum of €26.40 per day in tax-free per diem allowances can be claimed for up to six months while working at the same location.
In terms of overnight accommodation costs, the following guidelines apply:
With receipts, employers can offer tax-free reimbursements for overnight stays and breakfast in Austria. If no receipts are provided, a flat rate of €15 per night is tax-free.
Overnight allowances are generally tax-free, but only if the stay actually occurs (e.g. accommodation is not provided) and can be verified with hotel receipts. Without a receipt, a flat rate of €4.40 is allowed for overnight stays in Austria and €5.85 for stays abroad.
Per diem rates in Austria for international business trips
Employers can provide tax-exempt per diem and accommodation allowances for international trips at the maximum rate allowed for Federal employees. Reimbursements for overnight stays, including breakfast, can also be tax-free if supported by a receipt.
The table below is based on information from Findok and is intended to illustrate a sample of the variations in per-diem and accommodation allowances based on different destination countries.
How do per diem Austria guidelines apply when employees travel both domestically and internationally during the same trip?
When travel days consist of a mix of both domestic and international travel, the international part of the trip, as it relates to per diem rates, takes priority over the domestic part.
Once employees cross the Austrian border, daily allowances are provided at the foreign travel rates for federal employees if their stay abroad lasts longer than three hours. Domestic rates apply when employees spend less than three hours abroad.
Here’s a quick example based on Findok guidelines:
An employee travels from Vienna to Frankfurt by car. The journey begins at 7am, and the employee crosses the border at Passau at 11:15am.
The next day, the border is crossed back into Vienna at 3pm, and the journey ends at 6:10pm.
According to the calendar day rules, the trip spans 2 calendar days, each over 12 hours long.
Foreign portion of the trip:
1st day of travel (11:15 a.m. to midnight): 12/12 hours
2nd day of travel (00:00 to 3:00 p.m.): 12/12 hours
Domestic portion:
No tax-free domestic daily allowance can be paid as the total entitlement has been used up by the foreign portion.
Are per diem allowances different in some of the key Austrian cities?
No, per diem allowances remain the same across all Austrian cities. Rates per diem in Vienna, Austria are the same as in Salzburg. However, collective agreements for wage taxes do vary across each federal state.
Benefit your business with a better understanding of per diem rates in Austria
Per diem rates can simplify how you handle business travel expenses, but it’s crucial — especially in Austria — to make sure you understand how they can impact tax liability.
If you need an extra hand, travel management platform Perk has plenty of expense management features and integrations to help you with seamless business travel and expense management processes.
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