What is a "Daily Allowance"?
A Daily Allowance represents the sum of money that employees are entitled to receive when they are required to travel for business purposes, either within the country or abroad. There are two categories of Daily Allowance: internal Daily Allowance, which applies to travels within the country, and external Daily Allowance, which applies to travels outside the country.
 
 
Who is eligible for a Daily Allowance?
  • Employees within the company
  • Administrators (mentioned in the articles of incorporation or in the management/mandate contract)
  • Directors operating under a mandate contract
  • Managers, based on the management contract
 
 
How is a Daily Allowance granted?
Case I: Individuals assigned to travel to a location situated between 5 and 50 km from their permanent workplace will benefit from a delegation allowance of 20 lei/day, known as the Daily Allowance. This allowance is granted regardless of the position held or the public authority/institution where the person carries out their activity.
Case II: Individuals assigned to travel to a location situated more than 50 km from their permanent workplace and are unable to return at the end of the working day will benefit from a daily delegation allowance, also known as the Daily Allowance, composed of a 23 lei/day delegation indemnity and a 230 lei/day accommodation allowance. The accommodation allowance covers the expenses related to accommodation.
 
 
It is important to note the following aspects:
  • In the case of a one-day delegation or the last day of longer delegations, no daily accommodation allowance is granted. The delegation indemnity, or Daily Allowance, is only granted if the duration of the delegation is at least 12 hours.
  • The number of calendar days in which a person is on delegation is calculated from the departure date and time until the return date and time of the means of transportation to and from the place where they permanently carry out their activity. Each 24-hour interval is considered a delegation day.
  • The maximum duration of a delegation is 60 calendar days. This period can be extended multiple times through a request submitted by the employee, but it cannot exceed a total of 60 days.
  • Social contributions and income tax will be paid for the amount exceeding the maximum deductible limit.
 
 
In March 2022, Law No. 72 underwent the following modifications:
"k) delegation allowance, detachment allowance, including the specific allowance for transnational detachment, additional benefits received by employees based on the mobility clause, as well as any other amounts of the same nature, other than those granted for transportation and accommodation expenses, received by employees in accordance with the applicable legislation during the performance of their duties in another location, both within the country and abroad, in the interest of the service, for the part that exceeds the non-taxable threshold established as follows:
(i) In the country, the threshold is 2.5 times the legal level established for the allowance, by Government decision, for the personnel of authorities and public institutions, but it cannot exceed 3 base salaries corresponding to the occupied position.
(ii) Abroad, the threshold is 2.5 times the legal level established for the daily allowance, by Government decision, for Romanian personnel sent abroad for temporary missions, but it cannot exceed 3 base salaries corresponding to the occupied position.
 
The threshold for the 3 base salaries corresponding to the occupied position is calculated by relating the 3 salaries to the number of working days in the respective month and multiplying the result by the number of days in the delegation/detachment/activity carried out in another location, both within the country and abroad."
 
 
Costs with Daily Allowance
Therefore, in 2023, the maximum deductible limit for the Daily Allowance is as follows:
For internal Daily Allowance, the maximum deductible amount is 57.50 lei per day. This calculation is obtained by multiplying the maximum deductible amount for the internal delegation indemnity in the private sector, which is 20 lei, by the coefficient of 2.5.
For external Daily Allowance, the maximum limit is calculated by multiplying the minimum Daily Allowance established for public institutions, depending on the country where the delegation takes place, according to the table available HERE, by the coefficient of 2.5.
 
 
Let's take some concrete examples:
Example 1:
Mr. Popescu works at Company X in Brasov and needs to go on a delegation to Constanta for a period of 5 days.
The maximum deductible amount for the internal Daily Allowance: 20 lei (maximum deductible amount for the internal delegation indemnity in the private sector) x 2.5 x 5 days = 287.50 lei.
Example 2:
The same Mr. Popescu works at Company X in Brasov and is required to go on a delegation to Hamburg, Germany, for a period of 7 days.
According to the table available HERE, the minimum Daily Allowance per day in Germany is 35 euros.
Thus, the maximum deductible amount for the external Daily Allowance will be: 35 euros x 2.5 x 7 days = 612.5 euros.
 
 
The Daily Allowance represents an important component of the compensations provided to employees during business travel. By adhering to the rules and legal provisions in this field, fairness and transparency are ensured in granting this allowance, thereby contributing to the smooth conduct of service activities and employee satisfaction.