If an employer cannot provide evidence to support a travel allowance that has been paid, the specific exemption cannot be applied, and the allowance will be taxed as wages.
No expense claims
That was the decision taken by the Court in The Hague at the end of last year. The employer’s records contained no expense claims from employees. Nor were there any statements showing how the travel allowance paid to each employee had been determined. Furthermore, the audit of the employer’s accounts revealed that, in the years in question, the employer had underpaid the collective agreement allowance for special hours. The court assumes that the payments made under the guise of travel expenses relate to this collective agreement allowance.
The court has upheld the additional assessments imposed by the Tax and Customs Administration in respect of payroll tax, the income-related contribution under the Health Insurance Act and employees’ social security contributions. However, the late payment penalties imposed have been set aside, as they were imposed after the employer had ceased to exist.
Fixed fee
A fixed allowance for travel expenses incurred in connection with commuting may be based on 214 days. This is subject to the condition that the employee travels to a fixed place of work on at least 128 days in the calendar year. The maximum reimbursement per business kilometre is €0.19.
For the years 2020 and 2021, in the context of the coronavirus crisis, it was approved that this fixed travel allowance would continue to be paid on the basis of the travel pattern in force prior to 12 March 2020. This approval was withdrawn with effect from 1 January 2022.
The (fixed) travel allowance for commuting may not be paid for a day on which the specifically exempted allowance for working from home (€2 per day worked from home) is paid to the employee. See also our factsheet Reimbursement of home working expenses.