Additional Meal Expenses for One-Day Business Trips

A field sales employee was responsible for servicing companies in several Austrian federal states as part of his professional duties. In addition, he was tasked with acquiring new clients and undertook 43 one-day business trips for this purpose. He received neither daily allowances nor mileage reimbursement from his employer. He therefore claimed the additional meal expenses incurred during these one-day trips for tax purposes.

Decision of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Court (BFG)

The Austrian Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzgericht, BFG) distinguished between regular trips to companies already serviced by the employee and trips undertaken for the purpose of developing new business. The trips to companies in the various Austrian federal states did not qualify as business trips for tax purposes. Since the employee regularly worked at these locations and was therefore familiar with the local circumstances, these locations had become additional centres of his professional activity. Consequently, there was no basis for claiming additional meal expenses for tax purposes.

Furthermore, the employee was able to obtain meals at reduced prices at these companies. Therefore, he did not incur any additional meal expenses.

The 43 trips undertaken to develop new business were assessed differently. These qualified as genuine business trips. The BFG therefore recognised the additional meal expenses incurred in connection with these one-day business trips as income-related expenses for tax purposes.

In the past, it was widely held that no additional meal expenses could arise in the case of a business trip that did not involve an overnight stay. However, the BFG reached a different conclusion in its recent decision.