Nothing is discussed so intensely as expenses, or rather, the additional meal allowance. Because for us truck drivers, it’s important whether expenses are paid or not. And as always, there’s a lot of half-knowledge floating around.
Is the employer obliged to pay expenses? If so, how much and from when? Or do I have no claim to expenses at all? Let’s clarify this in this article.
Many drivers still calculate expenses as part of their salary, even though it’s often advised against. Because expenses are amounts that must not be added to the salary. It just looks better on paper, but if you’re on vacation or sick, you have no claim to the meal allowance. Do I have any claim at all?
In general, one can say yes, you do. § 9 Abs. 4a EStG (Income Tax Act) states the following:
(4a) Additional expenses of the employee for meals are only deductible as business expenses to the extent specified in the following paragraphs. If the employee is professionally active outside their home and first place of work (out-of-town professional activity), a meal allowance is to be set for the compensation of the actually incurred, professionally caused additional expenses. This allowance is
- 28 Euros for each calendar day on which the employee is away from their home and first place of work for 24 hours,
- 14 Euros for the departure and return day, if the employee stays overnight outside their home on that day, or on the preceding or following day,
- 14 Euros for the calendar day on which the employee is away from their home and first place of work for more than 8 hours without overnight stay; if the out-of-town professional activity starts on a calendar day and ends on the following calendar day without overnight stay, 14 Euros are granted for the calendar day on which the employee is away from their home and first place of work for the majority of the total more than 8 hours.
So, in short, you generally have a claim to a meal allowance. However, there are a few things to consider, because some employers do not pay this.
In principle, this is also correct. Because an employer is not obliged to pay you expenses, but he must issue you a certificate at the end of the year stating whether the expenses were paid in full or only partially.
To put it more complicated: You have a legal claim to the expenses, but not to the payment itself, but rather to the aforementioned certificate at the end of the year.
And what do you do with the receipt?
You submit it together with your income tax return to the tax office.
To summarize once again:
The current legal expense rate is:
For more than 8 hours away: 14 Euros
For more than 24 hours away: 28 Euros
In addition, truck drivers are entitled to an overnight allowance of currently 9 Euro. (§ 9 EStG Abs.1 Satz 5b zweiter Satz).
In any case, expenses are due to you. Whether they are paid out or you receive a certificate for income tax at the end of the year, it does not matter.
A different matter are collective agreements. In these, the payment to the drivers is usually set.
Expense rates
Perhaps a word on that as well. The expenses should have been increased this year.
From a) 14 to 16 Euro and b) from 28 to 30 Euro. I also reported on this in my blog. However, unfortunately, nothing came of it, the additional 2 Euro could apparently not be included in the budget by the Bundestag. A diet increase, however, was very much possible.
