Lump sum allowances for Belgian business trips and home office increased

Two circulars published by the Belgian tax authorities on 31 March and 10 April 2025, respectively, update as from 1 March 2025 the maximum amounts of the daily subsistence allowances for business trips within Belgium and the monthly home office allowance that may be paid by employers to their employees as an exempt cost proper to the employer.

Allowances for business trips within Belgium

Circular letter 2025/C/12 (Dutch I French) updates the maximum amounts of the daily subsistence allowances that may be paid by employers to their employees for business trips within Belgium.

The indexed amounts are as follows:

• Daily allowance for meal expenses: EUR 21.22 per day;

• Monthly allowance (subject to a maximum of 16 times the daily allowance for a full-time employee): EUR 339.52; and

• Additional daily allowance for accommodation costs: EUR 159.17 per night of an overnight stay.

As the daily allowances qualify as costs proper to the employer, they are exempt from personal income tax and partially exempt from social security contributions. See our previous Tax Alert of 3 July 2023 for more information.

Home office allowance

Circular letter 2025/C/19 (Dutch I French) updates the maximum monthly amount for the home office allowance payable to employees as a cost proper to the employer.

The maximum amount is set at EUR 157.83 per month, aligning the position of the tax authorities with the earlier instructions issued by the National Social Security Office. See our previous Tax Alert of 18 June 2024 for more information.