Are you planning a business trip? A business trip equals business expenses. However, not all costs for a business trip are seen as deductible items. So make sure you prepare for your trip!
There’s a lot to consider when going on a business trip. It involves making a lot of costs in a short period of time, of which it might not always be clear whether they can also be declared as business costs. That’s why we’ve made you a list of the main guidelines.
First of all, you can declare a maximum of €1,500 in costs for your business trip, if the trip is not explicitly necessary for your company that is. For example, when making a trip to boost your inspiration. Or a study trip abroad. Although both trips can benefit your development as an entrepreneur, it can be difficult to prove that they were actually essential for your business.
If the business trip serves a clear business goal, for example, because you get paid for an assignment abroad or because it involves an important meeting with business partners, there’s no maximum of €1,500.
In addition, it’s important to keep in mind that when you travel abroad, you cannot reclaim the VAT you pay over there in the Netherlands. So if you have the option to make certain costs with a Dutch company, this can save you a lot of money! If you DO make a large purchase in another EU country, you can try to reclaim the VAT via a separate form.
Costs of business trip
When you travel to a business appointment as an entrepreneur, you may declare the costs for this in full. This goes for all business appointments. So when you travel for business purposes, you can declare the costs for public transport, taxis or planes. Please note that commuting from your home to your workplace is not considered business travel.
When travelling by car, the above situation does not apply. In order to be allowed to submit petrol costs in your administration, your car must be a company car. If the car is not a company car, you can submit €0,23 per business kilometre as costs.
Once you arrive at your destination, you may incur costs to stay in a hotel. You may also state these costs in full, as long as you can prove that you are staying at the hotel for business purposes. However, if you stay at your destination longer, or, for example, take your partner or children with you on your trip, this is seen as a personal or so-called companion expense.
Business trip expenses
During the business trip, you may state all expenses you incur for your company. This means that the same rules regarding business expenses apply as there are in your day to day business. Maybe you’re taking your business partners out for lunch or dinner? The bills can be declared as business expenses. Are you gifting your business partners a bottle of wine when you say goodbye? This can be submitted to your books! However, the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration applies a correction of 20% on both types of costs, because it regards these expenses as being partly private. This illustrates that expenses incurred during a business trip should still meet the conditions applicable on expenses outside of travel.
