Ireland Travel ExpensePolicy Template
Every tax-free travel payment in Ireland must satisfy three strict conditions set by Revenue. Since January 2024, Enhanced Reporting Requirements mean Revenue sees every payment in real time. A compliant, well-documented policy is no longer optional — it is the difference between tax-free reimbursement and a PAYE, PRSI, and USC liability on every euro paid.
The Three-Condition Test
Every tax-free travel payment your company makes must pass all three. Fail any one, and the entire amount is taxable.
Temporarily Away from NPW
Employee must be away from their normal place of work in the performance of duties
Necessarily Incurred
"Wholly, exclusively and necessarily" per Section 114 TCA 1997
Subsistence Linked to Travel
Meals and accommodation must attach to a qualifying business journey
Fail any one and the entire payment becomes taxable. For the full breakdown including the NPW decision helper and penalty framework, see our Compliance Checklist.
Current Rates for Your Policy
These are the exact figures your policy should reference. Mileage rates from Circular 16/2022 (September 2022), subsistence from Circular 04/2025 (January 2025).
Car Mileage Rates (cent per km)
| Band | ≤1,200cc | 1,201–1,500cc | ≥1,501cc |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–1,500 km | 41.80 | 43.40 | 51.82 |
| 1,501–5,500 km | 72.64 | 79.18 | 90.63 |
| 5,501–25,000 km | 31.78 | 31.79 | 39.22 |
| 25,001+ km | 20.56 | 23.85 | 25.87 |
Electric vehicles use the 1,201–1,500cc column. Bands reset every January. View all vehicle rates
Domestic Subsistence Rates (effective Jan 2025)
| Category | Rate | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| 5–10 hours absence | €19.25 | 8km+ from home & NPW |
| 10+ hours absence | €46.17 | 8km+ from home & NPW |
| Overnight (nights 1–14) | €205.53 | 100km+ from home & NPW |
| Overnight reduced (15–28) | €184.98 | Same location |
| Overnight detention (29–56) | €102.76 | Same location |
Overnight is all-inclusive (accommodation + meals). Dublin VA max: €251.70/night. Subsistence at one location capped at 6 months.
Those Rates, Applied for You
No manual lookups, no rate table mistakes. The system detects the engine category, finds the correct band, and calculates the exact entitlement
Trip Details
Rate Calculation
Policy Section Builder
Your policy needs these six sections to meet Revenue's requirements. Click each section to see the specific clauses it should contain, written in plain language you can adapt for your company.
Normal Place of Work
The foundation of every compliant policy. Revenue will look at this first.
Define each employee's normal place of work (NPW) in writing — typically the office or premises where the employer provides facilities for work.
State explicitly that home is not the NPW unless there is an objective operational requirement that duties must be performed at home because they cannot be performed elsewhere.
For hybrid workers: confirm the office remains the NPW regardless of how many days are spent working from home. Travel from home to the office is private commuting.
For employees with no fixed office (field-based roles): define the NPW as the location to which they are primarily assigned or the employer's nearest premises.
Include a review mechanism — NPW should be reassessed if an employee's working pattern changes permanently.
Source: Revenue TDM Part 05-01-06, Section 2
Sections marked with * are essential for Revenue compliance. The Remote & Hybrid Working section is strongly recommended for any company with flexible working arrangements — which, post-COVID, is most Irish businesses.
Rules by Worker Type
Revenue applies different rules depending on who is claiming. Your policy should explicitly address each worker type present in your organisation.
Employees: Reimbursed at Civil Service flat rates (no receipts) or vouched costs. ERR reporting mandatory. The "necessarily incurred in the performance of duties" test applies to all claims.
Directors: Same PAYE rules as employees, but Revenue applies heightened scrutiny. Travel between separate directorships is commuting, not business travel.
Contractors via intermediary: NPW is the client's premises. Home-to-client travel is commuting. Travel between client sites qualifies as business travel.
For the full rules per worker type — including statutory tests, NPW determination, and key case law — see our Compliance Checklist.
Self-Employed / Sole Traders
Self-employed individuals cannot use Civil Service rates. They claim actual motor running costs (fuel, insurance, maintenance, depreciation) with a business/private apportionment based on mileage logs, deducted on their Form 11. The exception is itinerant traders — those with no fixed place of work who move between job sites — whose home-to-site travel qualifies as business travel. Meals are generally not deductible (everyone must eat to live), except for genuinely itinerant trades where hotel bills including meals are "usually allowed in full" if reasonable. See Revenue TDM Part 04-10-01.
ERR Reporting: What Changed
Since January 2024, Revenue has real-time visibility into every tax-free expense payment. This is the biggest shift in Irish expense compliance in decades.
The Reporting Obligation
Under Section 897C TCA 1997, every tax-free travel and subsistence payment must be reported to Revenue via ROS on or before the payment date. This applies to both vouched and unvouched (flat-rate) payments. Your policy must assign responsibility for this filing to a named role — typically payroll or finance.
ERR was introduced in January 2024. Full enforcement began 1 January 2025 — every payment you make today is monitored in real time.
Non-compliance triggers re-grossing, interest, and penalties. See the full penalty framework in our Compliance Checklist and the detailed ERR Compliance Guide.
Practical tip: There is no statutory deadline for internal expense submission, but setting a 30-day submission window in your policy ensures claims are processed and the ERR return filed before Revenue's payment-date deadline. Late internal submissions create a compliance gap — either you delay payment (and frustrate employees) or you file the ERR return retroactively and risk scrutiny.
International Travel Policy Clauses
Foreign subsistence rates under Circular 07/2017 haven't been updated in nearly nine years. Your policy should address the gap.
Last time foreign rates were updated
Tapering: month 1 / months 2–3 / months 4–6
After which, only month-1 rate + accommodation + 50% day rate
What your international policy should state
Foreign subsistence rates are governed by Circular 07/2017. For destinations where flat rates are inadequate, the company will reimburse vouched actual expenses with receipts — costs must be reasonable and necessarily incurred.
Employees must confirm rates with finance before departure for destinations not explicitly listed in the circular.
For assignments exceeding one month, overnight rates taper: 100% for the first month, 75% for months 2–3, and 50% for months 4–6. This must be applied automatically in claims processing.
Currency conversion should be based on the exchange rate on the date of expenditure. Revenue does not provide conversion guidance — use the Central Bank of Ireland or a reputable commercial bank rate.
Journey Records: Your Policy's Foundation
Your policy must require six specific data points per journey — omit any one and Revenue disallows the entire claim.
6-year retention. All records must be kept for a minimum of six years after the relevant tax year (Section 886 TCA 1997). Revenue accepts electronic storage under Section 887 requirements.
Journey Records, Captured Automatically
Revenue requires six specific data points per journey. Miss one and the entire claim is disallowed. Expense.ie captures all six at submission — no gaps, no follow-ups
Journey Record — Expense #2847
Aoife O'Brien · 21 Feb 2026 · Approved
Revenue-Mandated Fields
Claim Summary
Audit Trail
Vouched vs. Flat-Rate: Choosing Your Method
One of the first decisions your policy must make. Each has trade-offs — and you cannot mix them for the same expense type.
Flat-Rate (Civil Service Rates)
No receipts required from employees
Simpler to administer — fixed amounts per category
No Revenue pre-approval needed (Scale i)
Rates may not cover actual costs (especially overnight in Dublin or international travel)
Journey records still mandatory — missing records make the payment taxable
Best for: Most Irish SMEs with domestic travel
Vouched (Actual Costs)
Reimburses actual costs — fairer for expensive locations
No fixed cap (costs must be reasonable)
Better for international travel where 2017 flat rates are outdated
Requires receipts for every claim — more admin burden
Receipts must be retained for 6 years alongside journey records
Best for: Companies with significant international travel or Dublin overnights
Current Rates
Full mileage and subsistence rate tables for all vehicle types.
View ratesCompliance Checklist
Interactive checklist covering NPW, penalties, worker types, and tapering.
Start checkingMileage Log Template
Interactive validator, best-practice fields, and non-compliance calculator.
Get templateERR Compliance
Enhanced Reporting Requirements — timing, filing, and penalties.
Read guideStop Building Policies in Spreadsheets
Expense.ie enforces every rule on this page automatically. Current rates, ERR-ready exports, mandatory journey fields, and a full audit trail — built specifically for Irish Revenue compliance.
Auto-Calculated Rates
Current mileage bands and subsistence rates applied automatically to every claim
ERR-Ready Reports
Export directly to Revenue format — vouched and unvouched categories pre-separated
Complete Journey Records
Every mandatory field captured at submission — no gaps for Revenue to find
Disclaimer: This guide is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. While we have verified all rates and rules against official Revenue.ie source documents and Department of Public Expenditure circulars current as of February 2026, regulations change. Employers should consult a qualified tax adviser or chartered accountant when drafting their company travel and subsistence policy. Revenue's Tax and Duty Manual Part 05-01-06 (updated March 2025) is the definitive reference. Expense.ie is a software platform, not an accounting or tax advisory firm.