Work trip expenses are an important item of expenditure in the activities of the company and the entrepreneur. Compensation of expenses varies depending on the location of the work trip: within the country or in another country, its duration, the transport used and other conditions.

An employee who performs an official task on behalf of the employer outside the permanent place of work, according to the Labor Code, is entitled to compensation for expenses during such a work trip.

Conditions for compensation of work trip expenses:

• A work trip should include the performance of a specific task with a written order from the employer (trip documentation, order), which indicates the place, dates and times of the trip, advance payment for the work trip, etc.
• • The amount of compensation for trip expenses is established in the employment contract or in a collective agreement with the employer. If they are not established, then the amount of compensation for expenses must not be less than the corresponding compensation in accordance with the Decree of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of January 29, 2013 on the amounts due to an employee working in a state or municipal institution for a business trip, as amended on June 30, 2022 (Rozporządzenie Ministra pracy i polityki społecznej z dnia 29 stycznia 2013 r.) w sprawie należności przysługujących pracownikowi zatrudnionemu w państwowej lub samorządowej jednostce sfery budżetowej z tytułu podróży służbowej).

What is compensated for an employee on a work trip:

1. Food expenses are paid in the amount applicable to the country of destination of the trip. If the trip takes place in Poland, then from July 2022 the amount of compensation for such expenses is PLN 38 per day. If to another country, for example, to Austria – 57 euros.

Travel expenses for food are listed below.

Table 1 – Compensation for food on a domestic work trip

As in the case of compensation of food expenses on domestic work trips, the compensation of such expenses on a foreign trip depends on the duration of the trip and the amount of compensation established by the employment contract, collective agreement or the above Decree. The amount of compensation for food expenses on a work trip abroad depends on the country of such a work trip, for example Austria – 52 euros, Czech Republic – 41 euros, etc. The rates are given in the Decree (Rozporządzenie) above.

Table 2 – Compensation for food while traveling abroad

2. Travel from the place of permanent place of work or place of residence of the employee to the place of work trip and back.

• When traveling within the country, payments to cover the cost of travel on local transport are 20% of the base rate (PLN 7.6) per day. The employer can also cover such expenses in full if they are documented.
• If the work trip lasts at least 10 days, the employee is compensated for travel expenses on the day off on the transport specified by the employer to the place of permanent or temporary residence and back.

• When traveling abroad, travel expenses to and from a railway station, bus station, airport or seaport are compensated at a one-time base rate at the destination abroad and any other place abroad where the employee stayed overnight. If the employee has such transportation costs only in one direction, then they are compensated in the amount of 50% of the base amount.
• To cover the cost of travel on local transport, 10% of the base amount is paid for each day of stay abroad.
• The above expenses are not compensated if the employee:

– travels abroad in a company or private car, motorcycle or moped,

– has free transport,

– does not have the costs for which these payments are intended.

• When using personal transport by an employee, travel expenses are compensated depending on the type of transport and the amount of mileage in kilometers, based on the vehicle's mileage. The rate for one kilometer is PLN 0.5214 (for vehicles with engine capacity up to 900 cm³) or PLN 0.8358 (for vehicles with engine capacity over 900 cm³). When paying expenses per kilometer at a higher rate, these expenses may not be exempt from personal income tax and social security contributions.

3. Accommodation.

• When traveling within the country, expenses are paid in the amount of the hotel bill, but not more than twenty times the basic amount for one day (PLN 760). In justified cases, compensation for living expenses according to the invoice may be higher than this limit.
• An employee who is not provided with free or paid accommodation is entitled to payment of such expenses in the amount of 150% of the base amount of PLN 57 in 2022.

• When traveling abroad , expenses are paid in the amount indicated on the hotel invoice, within the limits specified in the appendix to the Decree (Rozporządzenie) indicated above.
• If an accommodation bill is not submitted, the employee is entitled to an accommodation payment of 25% of the limit specified in this appendix.
• In justified cases, the employer may agree to compensation of accommodation expenses with a confirmed invoice more than the established limit.

4. Other documented expenses.

In the event of an illness that occurred during a trip abroad, the employee is entitled to compensation of the documented necessary expenses for medical treatment abroad.

How is travel time determined? It depends on the type of transport when crossing the border.

1) ground – from the moment of crossing the state border on the way abroad until the moment it is crossed on the way back to the country,

2) air – from the moment the plane takes off from the last airport in the country until the plane lands on the way back at the first airport in the country,

3) maritime – from the moment the ship (ferry) leaves the last Polish port until the ship (ferry) calls on the way back to the first Polish port.

Example. The employee received a work trip task for 5 days in city A and 5 days in city B. Travel expenses in the company are paid in accordance with the current legal rules, a collective agreement on travel expenses has not been accepted. In city A, full board was provided, in city B – partial board, with breakfast paid. The employee used personal transport (a car with an engine capacity of up to 900 cm3).

Travel expenses will be compensated for:

1. Food expenses: 5 days x PLN 28.5 = PLN 142.5

2. Accommodation expenses: according to hotel bills, the employer pays.

3. Travel expenses: the vehicle has traveled 700 km. x 0.5214 = PLN 364.98

Total costs for worker's compensation: PLN 507.48

An advance payment before a work trip is made in the amount received as a result of the initial calculation of the costs for it, including in foreign currency or Polish currency at the exchange rate for a work trip abroad.

After the end of the work trip, payment of travel expenses must be made within 14 days. The employee provides a statement of expenses with supporting documents (invoices, receipts, etc.), which the employer compensates in the future. If there are no supporting documents for some expenses, then the employee provides the employer with a written statement about the expenses incurred and the reasons for their absence in the documentation.

Compensation for travel expenses to an employee is exempt from personal income tax and contributions to social and medical insurance (within the established limits).

From January 1, 2023, the basic rates for food, accommodation and travel on work trips within the country and abroad will be increased in accordance with the changes in the said Decree of October 25, 2022 (Rozporządzenie od 25.10.2022 r.).

Table 3 – Increase in basic travel compensations from 2023, PLN