Retroactive amendments to lump sum allowances for foreign business trips

On 27 October 2025, the Belgian tax authorities published Circular Letter 2025/C/70 (Dutch I French) updating the applicable rules on lump sum allowances for  foreign business trips.

Background

Companies may pay their employees and directors a fixed daily allowance which is exempt from tax and social security contributions to cover certain incidental expenses incurred during foreign business trips, such as food and drink, local transport, and telephone calls. This offers employers the possibility of reimbursing such costs without the administrative burden of verifying each individual expense.

The lump sum amount varies between foreign jurisdictions and the circular includes a list of the updated amounts per jurisdiction as from 1 August 2025, as well as some other key changes.

Key changes

Removal of minimum trip duration requirement

Previously, for foreign business trips where departure and return occur within the same 24-hour period, the full daily allowance could only be paid tax free if the absence lasted at least 10 hours. This minimum duration requirement has been removed with retroactive effect as from 1 January 2025.

Full allowance for days of departure and return

For business trips longer than 24 hours and professional stays over 30 days, it was previously only possible to pay 50% of the published amounts for days of departure and return.

The new circular specifies that with retroactive effect as from 1 January 2025, the daily allowance is no longer halved for departure and return days. Instead, the full daily allowance may be paid, but reductions for lunch (35%), dinner (45%), or minor expenses (20%) must be applied if the employer pays for accommodation that includes meals or minor expenses.

Example

Marc travels from Brussels to Paris from 1 to 4 September 2025. The daily lump sum allowance for France is EUR 95 as from 1 August 2025. Marc may receive a non-taxable allowance of EUR 380 (i.e., four x EUR 95), without the requirement to apply a 50% reduction for 1 and 4 September.