How should I pay for staff travel expenses?

Q ACan you give me some guidelines on mileage and subsistence rates I should pay my employees?

The Revenue has changed the mileage and subsistence rates from April 1, 2017.

You can pay your employee’s expenses when they travel on business journeys. You can also pay subsistence if employees are working away from their normal place of work. You can repay your employees when they use their private cars, motorcycles or bicycles for business purposes.

A common mistake that sole traders make is to claim mileage and subsistence using Civil Service rates. They can only claim for the actual expenses they incur so if you are a sole trader, you should keep receipts for the business portion of motor expenses (Fuel, motor tax, motor insurance) hotels and related expenses.

Use of private vehicles

You can repay your employees when they use their private cars, motorcycles or bicycles for business purposes. This payment can be made, tax free, by the amount of business kilometers travelled.

You can either:

• Use the current schedule of Civil Service rates

• Use other rates not higher than Civil Service rates

• Repay the actual cost of the travel to your employee. This amount should not exceed the current Civil Service rates.

Your employee may make a claim to Revenue for any travel expenses that are not repaid by you. They should use the car expenses claim form.

Subsistence expenses

You may repay your employee expenses for their subsistence costs while they are temporarily away from their normal place of work. Payments can be made by either:

• Using the current schedule of Civil Service subsistence rates

• Repaying the actual cost of subsistence, at a rate not higher than the current Civil Service rates

Overnight allowance

Overnight allowance covers an overnight absence of up to 24 hours. This must be at least 100km from the employee’s home and their normal place of work.

Day allowances

There are two categories, five to ten hours and over ten hours absence. The absence must be outside eight kilometers of the employee’s home or normal place of work (five kilometers prior to July 1, 2015).

The Revenue Commissioners are always reviewing mileage and subsistence claims so make sure your expense claims and records will withstand detailed Revenue scrutiny. If they don’t it could cost you!

For further information on the Revenue guidelines on travel and subsistence, including tables of the various rates, go to www.revenue.ie or contact Kevin O’Donnell at RDA at 053 9170507 or email kodonnell@rda.ie.