Per diem allowances in Denmark

Tax-free per diem allowances are intended to cover meals and small expenses as well as lodging.

Allowances can only be tax-free if an employee’s business trip lasts 24 hours or more.

Tax-free travelling allowances can be paid for up to 12 months. Starting from the 13th month, all expenses should be covered with vouchers, but not with fixed allowance amounts.

Allowance rates are updated 1 January each year.

Daily allowance in Denmark

The daily allowance amount for business trips in Denmark is DKK 574 per day in 2024.

An additional tax-free amount of up to 25% of the daily rate may be paid out for meals and small expenses.

Meal deductions

The following deductions must be made to the lump sum allowances employees are paid to cover their business travel expenses if these meals are not paid for by the employee:

• 15% for breakfast

• 30% for lunch

• 30% for dinner

Business travel lasting less than 24h does not entitle the employee to a daily allowance. However, business travel lasting more than 24h entitles the employee to a pro rata of the allowance.

E.g.: for a trip lasting 20 hours, no per diem is paid. For a trip lasting 40 hours, a per diem of 1*the daily rate + 16/24 of the daily rate is paid.

Overnight allowance

When working in Denmark or abroad on a temporary basis, a tax-free amount of DKK 246 per night may be paid out to cover accommodation expenses.

Source: https://skat.dk/en-us/individuals/deductions-and-allowances/deductions-and-allowances-when-working/travel-deductions-and-allowances/tax-free-travel-allowance-subsistence-allowance https://cirkulaere.medst.dk/media/1349/023-23.pdf