Per diems and meal allowances

Per diems and meal allowances

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Hi all,

Has anyone any experience setting limits on employee travel expenses?  We've never had to look at it previously , but lately a few employees have been pushing the limits a little.  Is it practicable to set a limit of, say, £30 per meal while travelling on company business?  My thinking up until now has been that it could have the adverse effect of making people think that they have £30 to spend so many as well use it rather than just grabbing a sandwich.

Appreciate any thoughts and experience.  As someone who has always travelled on the cheapest routes and even takes a home-made sandwich when driving this is new territory for me.

Replies (8)

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By chrisdxuk
14th Nov 2013 10:09

For what it is worth...

We recently applied for a dispensation with the Revenue over our lads out of pocket off-site expenses and the Revenue informed us that their lunch limit was £5. Which we felt was overly generous and pegged at £4.50.

If, our staff overnight away from home the limit is £25 per person but no alcohol. 

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By Kirkers
14th Nov 2013 10:41

£30 per meal? You could feed

£30 per meal? You could feed a family of 4 for that at a restaurant. I'd go with £5.

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By pvthomas1
15th Nov 2013 13:24

Minor reclaiming tax credit deducted from trust income.

Apologies posted to wrong thread

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Replying to marks:
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By Euan MacLennan
14th Nov 2013 12:20

Re-post as a separate question?

pvthomas1 wrote:

Never been asked this before and can't find an answer anywhere, hopefully someone else has encountered this. Can a reclaim be made for tax deducted from trust income paid to a minor during the tax year or do you use a R40 or another form after the year end?

I cannot see the relevance of this comment on this thread.  Did you intend to post it as a new question?

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Replying to PERMON:
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By pvthomas1
14th Nov 2013 15:38

Yes sorry not familiar with the web-site.

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By annettedwyer
14th Nov 2013 13:05

HMRC Benchmark Scale Rates

£30 is way too generous!! Have a look on HMRC's website , type in 'benchmark scale rates' and you'll find what they consider reasonable which isn't too far off the mark and covers various situations... I'd pop the link in but don't know how to!!

Then worth applying for a dispensation and then paying the benchmark rates will also be tax free!!

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By NDH
14th Nov 2013 13:36

Expenses is a tricky one to set limits for because you want to keep the costs down but for some types of employee (eg sales reps) you don't to discourage them from going out and doing the job properly by not reimbursing them adequately.

I find the HMRC benchmark rates are actually quite reasonable for limits.

Allowing £5 for an evening meal when staying away from home is a bit measly and won't exactly leave the staff member in a good frame of mind. I do however think the £30 suggestion is very generous but if you feel it fits in with what the company is trying to achieve with its employees then you can set the limit at £30.

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By tom123
14th Nov 2013 17:34

Really depends

I think it really depends on circumstances. I am currently in north america on business, and expect to spend about £25 per meal in the evening.

After a day working, I wouldn't really just want to go to McDonalds for tea.

Yes, you can get a lot of groceries for £30, but, travellers have no facilities or access to any means of food preparation - so you are really stuck with restaurants.

 

Whatever you choose it is best to have a stated policy, so that there is fairness. If different groups of employees 'get away' with different things that can lead to minor unrest.

 

The scale rates are there to permit tax free allowances without receipts, as far as I can recall.

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