Updated: April 2026
Per diem rates are a simple way of managing employee travel expenses. Understanding the per diem rates Belgium offers travelling employees helps finance departments accurately budget for trips, ensure compliance with local regulations, and provide fair compensation to employees for travel-related costs.
Here, we break down Belgium’s per diem guidelines and answer the most important questions.
What are per diem rates for business travel?
Per diem rates for business travel are set allowances that employers provide to employees to cover the expenses of accommodation, meals, and incidental costs while on a business trip.
Governments usually establish standard travel allowances, taking into account factors like average maximum accommodation costs, the general cost of living, and applicable travel regulations.
These per diem rates usually vary depending on the destination of the business trip and, in some cases, the location of the company, particularly in major cities and business hubs.
Are per diem rates mandatory?
One of the major benefits of using per diem rates is that employees aren't required to keep and submit every receipt for reimbursement of travel expenses.
However, businesses don’t have to follow per diem rates. They have the flexibility to decide to ask employees to submit expenses or they can choose which per diem rates to apply. For example, a company might follow per diem guidelines for meals and incidental expenses while establishing its own budgets for accommodation within its corporate travel policy.
What expenses are covered by per diem rates for Belgium?
Per diem rates in Belgium can be used to cover:
Meals
Accommodation
Local transportation costs, drinks, snacks, tips, and costs for telecommunication
For both domestic and international trips, an overnight allowance can be added to the daily per diem if the employer does not cover the cost of the stay or there are no accommodation expenses (e.g., staying with a friend, family, or in a company apartment).
What expenses are not covered by per diem rates for Belgium?
Aside from public transport expenses, per diem rates in Belgium do not cover other types of transportation, including flights.
How are per diem rates in Belgium calculated for domestic and international trips?
Per diem rates in Belgium are fixed allowances for meals and accommodation costs which vary depending on several factors, such as whether the trip is domestic or international and trip duration. Let’s take a look at some of the per diem Belgium guidelines.
Belgium per diem rates for domestic business trips
Employees are entitled to the following allowances during domestic business trips:
For meals, the standard domestic daily allowance is €10.40 per day, with a maximum (indexed) amount of €21.63 per day. Employees who receive the daily allowance are not entitled to claim the actual individual meal expenses for reimbursement.
For employees frequently travelling within Belgium, employers can choose to pay them a monthly flat rate of €167.
For overnight stays within Belgium the standard rate for an overnight allowance is €78 per night, with the maximum amount set at €161.77 per night.
For these expenses to be eligible for reimbursement, there are certain conditions that need to be met:
Trips must be business-related and involve travel away from the home and/or office.
Trips should last at least six hours.
The trip must be more than 25 kilometres outside of the employee’s usual workplace.
There are also instances where the domestic daily allowance should be reduced:
When employees receive a meal voucher for the day (the daily allowance should be reduced by the voucher amount, which is up to €7.19 per voucher).
If lunch is separately expensed by the employee (the meal voucher amount should be deducted from the lunch expense).
If any meals are paid for by the employer or a third party (e.g., hotel-included breakfast)
If any meals are included in the participation fee for an event or seminar.
Belgium per diem rates for international business trips
Per diem rates for international trips are divided into two categories, short international business trips (Category 1) and long international business trips (Category 2). The rates of both the daily and accommodation allowances vary depending on where the employee travels.
Short international business trips (Category 1)
To be classed as short international business travel, the trip must not exceed 30 calendar days. The allowance is intended to cover the cost of meals and incidental expenses (local transportation costs, drinks, snacks, tips, and costs for telecommunication) during the business trip.
The allowance is tax-free for both the business and the employee, as long as the expense is not greater than the maximum amount set by the Belgian government. It is also only available to employees who usually work at the company and do not travel abroad regularly.
Businesses can either pay employees a lump sum (maximum €38.67 per day) which is not based on the destination of the business trip or follow the maximum amount determined by the Belgian government that is different per country (see section “Maximum accommodation and daily lump sum allowances per country” below).
Here are the details regarding this allowance:
The full daily allowance can be claimed for each full day of travel abroad, half of which can be claimed for the day of arrival and departure. If an employee departs and arrives on the same day, they can claim the full daily allowance.
If a business trip includes visits to multiple countries, the daily allowance will be based on the location of the final overnight stay.
If any meals during the business trip are covered by the employer or a third party, the daily allowance should be reduced by 35% for lunch and 45% for dinner.
Long international business trips (Category 2)
The rules regarding long international business travel (business trips lasting over 30 days) are more simple. You can find a sample of the total allowance amounts for accommodation and meals by country in the table in the section below, and a full list here.
Maximum accommodation and daily lump sum allowances per country
The table below is intended to illustrate a sample of the variations in accommodation and additional meal allowances based on different destination countries and expense categories.
Benefit your business with a better understanding of per diem rates in Belgium
Per diem rates can simplify how you manage business travel expenses, but it’s crucial — especially with the complex Belgian guidelines — to make sure you understand how they work and when they can be applied.
To help you manage per diem rates alongside other travel expense processes, travel management platform Perk offers plenty of features and integrations to help you with seamless business travel and expense management processes.
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Written by
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Growth Marketing Director
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