Updated: April 2026
When employees travel for work, there are so many ways to compensate them — with a travel reimbursement, a corporate credit card, and more. One of the easiest solutions is to use per diem rates.
Per diem rates offer a flat rate travel allowance that make it easier for your team to reimburse business travel expenses — without all the paperwork. Here’s a quick primer on how it works for employees in the Czech Republic.
What are per diem rates?
“Per diem” means “per day,” so per diem rates are a fixed daily allowance set for business travel. These fixed allowances cover costs incurred during a business trip, such as lodging, meals, and local transportation. Since these rates are fixed, it makes it much easier to budget.
In many cases, there’s a base per diem rate set by the government or Department of Labour laws. In other cases, employers may choose their own per diem allowances, based on employee travel.
Where there are per diem rates set by law, employers may choose to reimburse more than the fixed rates, but not less.
How are per diem rates calculated in the Czech Republic?
Per diem rates in the Czech Republic are set by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic in the Czech Labour Code. These allowances are meant to cover meals and incidental expenses.
Per diem rates are calculated based on:
if the trip is in the business sector or the non-business sector
the duration of the trip
What’s covered by per diem rates in Czech Republic
Per diem rates in the Czech Republic cover a meal allowance. Separate reimbursements should be made for:
transportation (based on documented expenses)
accommodation (based on documented expenses)
driving a personal vehicle for business (based on fixed rates)
What are per diem rates in the Czech Republic?
Basic rates for per diem in the Czech Republic are calculated as follows:
Per diem rates for the non-business sector:
If the trip lasts longer than 24 hours, then the employee should receive between CZK 370 - 442 for each 24 hour period.
Per diem rates for the business sector:
If the employer chooses to reimburse at a higher rate, then the reimbursement over the tax-exempt amount is considered taxable income for the employee.
If the employee is provided with free food during their business trip, then the per diem rates are reduced accordingly:
70% for business trips between 5-12 hours
35% for business trips of 12-18 hours
25% for business trips over 18 hours
If the employee receives multiple free meals during their business trip, the per diem may be eliminated completely.
If the employee receives two free meals for trips up to 12 hours, no per diem is paid for that day.
If the employee receives three free meals for trips between 12-18 hours, no per diem is paid for that day.
The Czech Republic also sets fixed compensation rates for employees who use personal motor vehicles for business travel.
Employees are to be reimbursed CZK 5.60 per km driven for work, along with the following average price for fuel:
Per diem rates for international business travel
For international business travel, Czech employees should be provided with a per diem meal allowance, as determined by the duration and destination of the trip.
The following table provides per diem foreign meal allowance amounts by country:
For the full list of meal allowances per foreign country, see Act No. 222/2016 Coll. from the Czech Labor Code.
Employees are granted the full amount of the meal allowances above if they spend more than 18 hours in that country in a calendar day.
The following adjustments may be made to the basic compensation as applicable:
FAQs on Czech Republic Per Diem Rates
- Per diem payments are not taxable in the Czech Republic, unless you pay more than the mandated amount. In this case, the amount above the mandated maximum is considered taxable income for the employee.
- Per diem payments should be paid in advance by the employer by at least the first day of the business trip. After the trip, if the advance payment is found to be too low based on actual expenses, the employer should pay the difference in CZK. If the advance payment is too high, the employee should return the difference in CZK, or in the currency of the advance payment.
Managing business travel expenses easily
Whether your employees travel for business regularly or just once in a while, having an all-in-one travel management and booking platform like Perk makes it much easier to manage.
Not only can you manage booking travel for employees, but you can keep all expenses-related information in one place with our third-party integrations. Connect Perk to your expense management software and keep all your receipts, lodging invoices, transportation costs, and other expenses connected with your travel bookings and plans.
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Written by
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Growth Marketing Director
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