Per diem calculator for Germany 2026
Enter the destination and times, tick the meals you got: the calculator shows your meal allowance (Verpflegungsmehraufwand) for Germany and abroad, plus travel and hotel costs.
Your trip
Travel costs
Result
Deductible for this trip
€90.00
- Meal allowance (0 days)€0.00
- Travel costs (300 km × €0.30)€90.00
- Hotel€0.00
2026 rates from the BMF. The meal allowance applies at the same place of work only for the first three months.
Travel costs without the paperwork
Norman reads your receipts and books them as business expenses, for free. Filing the EÜR with your travel costs starts with the Klein plan.
Start for freeThe 2026 rates
€28: for every full day you are away from home and your regular place of work for 24 hours.
€14: for the outbound and return day of a trip with an overnight stay, and for single-day trips over 8 hours.
Abroad: Each country has its own rates, some cities too. The calculator uses the BMF table of 5 December 2025.
Meals: A breakfast you get cuts the allowance by 20% of the full-day rate, a lunch or dinner by 40% each.
What else you deduct
Travel: €0.30 per kilometre driven in your own car, €0.20 by motorbike or scooter. Train, flight and taxi tickets count in full.
Hotel: the actual costs per invoice, without breakfast. The BMF overnight rates only apply when an employer pays them back tax-free.
Three months: If you work at the same outside place for more than three months, the meal allowance stops from the fourth month.
Self-employed and employees: The self-employed book it all as business expenses. Employees claim it as Werbungskosten, unless the employer pays it back tax-free.
FAQ
How high is the German per diem in 2026?
In Germany €14 for single-day trips over 8 hours and for outbound and return days, €28 for every full day (§ 9 (4a) EStG). Abroad, the BMF rates for each country apply.
From how many hours do I get the allowance?
On a single-day trip from more than 8 hours away. On a trip with an overnight stay, the outbound and return days always get €14, however long you travel.
What if someone else pays for my meals?
The allowance drops by 20% of the full-day rate for a breakfast and by 40% each for a lunch or dinner. In Germany that is €5.60 and €11.20.
Which rate applies abroad?
The rate of the place you last reach before midnight local time. If that place is in Germany, for example on the return day, the last place of work abroad counts. For a country missing from the BMF table, the Luxembourg rate applies.
Can self-employed people claim the per diem?
Yes, as a business expense, with the same rates as employees (§ 4 (5) no. 5 EStG). You need no meal receipts, but proof of the trip and its purpose.
Is there a flat rate for hotels?
Only for tax-free reimbursement by an employer. For the self-employed and in your tax return, the actual costs per invoice count.