Accommodation and meals in your travel expense claim - Kunnskapsbasen
Accommodation and meals in your travel expense claim
When filling out your travel expense report, it's important to select the correct type of accommodation. Where you stay determines whether and how much tax is deducted from the allowance for meals.
Norsk: Overnatting og kostgodtgjørelse
Topic page Travel | Travel expense claim | Other reimbursements
When you have been on a business trip, you can choose to receive a allowance for meals during your stay. To do this, you mark a checkbox in step 2 of the travel expense report, see guidelines (dfo.no).
Rates for meal allowances
NTNU covers expenses according to the rates specified in the handbook for state personell:
- Domestic travel: 9.2. Særavtale om dekning av utgifter til reise og kost innenlands (In Norwegian)
- Travels abroad: 9.3 Særavtale om dekning av utgifter til reise og kost utenfor Norge (in Norwegian)
It is only under special circumstances that you can have your meals reimbursed based on actual expenses.
Tax withholding of meal allowances
When travelling with accommodation, the place where the accommodation takes place (type of lodging) is decisive for how much of the per diem allowance is taxable. The Norwegian Tax Administration determines the specific amounts that can be paid out tax-free. You can find an overview on Altinn - Travel expenses. If you have the ability to prepare your own meals, you will be subject to more tax deductions compared to accommodations where cooking facilities are not available.
Deductions for covered meals
If any of your meals during the trip are provided or covered in other ways, such as breakfast being included in the hotel price or lunch being included in the conference fee, you must indicate this in step 2 of the travel expense report.
The meal allowance will then be reduced by:
- 20 percent for breakfast
- 30 percent for lunch
- 50 percent for dinner
Select the correct accommodation type in the travel expense claim
Remember that if you are claiming a meal allowance, you must always provide the full name of the accommodation. The exception is private apartments or similar accommodations where there is no company name. You register the accommodation type in step 1 of the travel expense report, in the field labeled "Type of trip". In the table below, you can see the names of different regulations in the self-service portal and their descriptions.
| The name of the accommodation type/regulation in the expense report | Description |
|---|---|
| Day trip | No overnight stay: Choose this if your trip lasts only one day and does not involve overnight stays. |
| Hotel | Hotel: Use this when staying at a hotel. This means an accommodation with the word "hotel" in the name or another place with hotel standard. Boat, ship with a cabin :You must also use trip type “Hotel” if you stay overnight on a boat/ship such as Hurtigruten or other ferries with a cabin. For expeditions, see different type. |
| Dorm/Flat/Private w/kitchen | Studio, apartment, AirBnB where you can cook: Choose this if you spend the night in a dorm room or apartment where you have the opportunity to prepare meals. This applies both to accommodation through services such as AirBnB and if you stay privately with friends. |
| Drm w/o kitch, Board h./Barrac | Dorms, hostels etc. where you cannot cook: Use this for types of accommodation where you usually cannot prepare meals, such as guest house, hostel, lodging, barracks, plane, bus, train, car and the like. |
| Expedition | Work onboard a ship: For those who temporarily perform work related to your ordinary work on board a ship on an expedition. Regulation:Særavtale om godtgjørelse mv. på tokt (Norwegian). |
| Holiday/private stay | Combination of work and holiday: If you combine holiday with business travel, add new destination, and register the holiday period as "Holiday/private stay". |
| >28d Hotel | Hotel or boat travel over 28 days: If your hotel stay is long-term, you must from the 29th day use this regulation. You register day 1-28 as "Hotel". |
| >28d Dorm /flat/Priv w/kitchen | Apartment, AirBnB etc. over 28 days: If the trip lasts more than 28 days, and you live in an apartment or similar (e.g. AirBnB or private with friends) with the possibility to cook, you must use this regulation from the 29th day onwards. Register day 1-28 as "Dorm/Flat/Private w/kitchen". |
| >28d Dorm w/o kitch, Barracks | Dormitory, guest house over 28 days: If the trip lasts more than 28 days, and you stay in a guest house or similar where you cannot cook, you must use this regulation from the 29th day. Register day 1-28 as "Dorm w/o kitch, Board h./Barrac". |
| Commuter/ Dorm/Flat/Priv >28 | Commuter status employees only |
| Commuter Drm/Flt/Priv, high ra | Commuter status employees only |
| Commuter Drm/Flt/Priv, low rat | Commuter status employees only |
| No Tax Dorm w/o kitch, Barracks | Accomodation without a kitchen when on academic sabbaticals and grant travels, such as guest house or similar. Go to How to submit your mobility grant settlement for details. |
| No Tax Dorm/Flat/Priv w/kitch | For academic sabbaticals and grant travels, when you stay in an apartment or similar (e.g. airBnB or private with friends), with the possibility of cooking. Go to How to submit your mobility grant settlement for details. |
| Day trip – domestic, taxable | For regular travel - only for employees without a local workplace |
| Change empl. Place w/o resid. | For employees who are entitled to substantiated expenses on board pursuant to Section 4 Change of place of service without change of residence in Særavtale om økonomiske vilkår ved endret tjenestested. Applies to travel in Norway only. The per diem allowance given is fully subject to deduction |
Are you combining hotel accommodation with overnight train or similar?
If you combine your accommodation with transportation methods such as overnight trains or flights to/from the destination, you should select the regulation for the main accommodation for the entire stay. For example: If you take an overnight train to Oslo, stay at a hotel there, and then take an overnight train back, you should register the entire stay as "Hotel." Similarly, if the accommodation at the destination is an apartment, you would register the entire stay as "Dorm/Flat/Private w/kitchen".
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