Guide
Daily allowance, partial daily allowance and meal allowance: how they are calculated
The daily allowance is a tax-free reimbursement of the extra living costs caused by a business trip. Its amount and conditions come from the Tax Administration's annual decision, not from the employer's own discretion.
Updated 21.9.2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice — check the regulations in force from the authority's own guidance.
What counts as a business trip
A tax-free daily allowance requires that the trip is a temporary one to a special place of work. The ordinary journey between home and the actual workplace is not a business trip and no allowance is paid for it. The line between the actual and a special place of work is where mistakes usually arise, and it is worth settling carefully, especially in construction, where the site changes constantly.
Duration and distance decide
The amount depends on the duration of the trip: a longer trip gives the right to a full allowance, a shorter one to a partial allowance. The trip must also exceed the distance limit set in the Tax Administration's decision, measured from the employee's actual workplace and home. The travel day is counted from the start of the trip, not by calendar day — this is the single most common calculation error.
A free meal halves it
If the employee receives a meal during the trip free of charge or included in the price of the ticket, the allowance is reduced. For a full allowance two meals, and for a partial allowance one meal, affect the amount. In practice this gets forgotten when the lunch on a training day was included in the attendance fee.
The meal allowance is a different matter
When a trip does not give the right to a daily allowance but the employee cannot eat at their usual place, a meal allowance may be paid. It is smaller than the daily allowance and the two are not paid for the same trip.
Mileage allowance with your own car
A mileage allowance is paid for using your own car, and it rises with a trailer and with people carried because of the job. The allowance requires a mileage log or an equivalent account of the kilometres driven.
The values change every year
The Tax Administration issues its decision on tax-free travel expense reimbursements every year, and the euro amounts change. An allowance paid at an old rate is either a loss to the employee or taxable income. Always check the values at the turn of the year in the Tax Administration's decision in force.
FAQ
Can a daily allowance be paid if the employer provides accommodation?
Accommodation as such does not bar the allowance, because it covers other living costs. Free meals, on the other hand, reduce it.
Is a daily allowance paid to the entrepreneur as well?
An entrepreneur employed by their own limited company can receive the allowance on the same terms as other employees. For a sole trader the situation is different, because there is no employment relationship. Check your own position with your accountant.
What if the trip lasts several days?
Travel days are counted consecutively from the moment the trip begins. How the final incomplete day is treated depends on its duration.
How Kirjus helps here
In Kirjus the employee records the start and end times of the trip, the destination and the purpose. The service calculates full and partial allowances from the duration, deducts free meals and adds the mileage allowance with trailer and passenger supplements. The rates sit in settings, so the turn-of-year update takes a minute.
Read also
Daily allowances and mileage
Full and partial daily allowances, the meal allowance and mileage allowances with trailer and passenger supplements, according to the Tax Administration's current values.
Vehicles and the mileage log
Inspection and insurance dates with reminders, a mileage log with the kilometres, and the separation of business and private driving for the tax authority.