Per diem and business travel

From the travel order to the final settlement: per diem is calculated automatically by day and country, while mileage, accommodation and transport join the same travel file.

Travel is the hardest spend to track, because a single trip generates five kinds of document: the travel order, the per diem, fuel receipts or tickets, the hotel invoice and any entertainment costs. 4expenses gathers them into one travel file. You enter the destination and the departure and return dates, and per diem is computed by day — separately for domestic and foreign travel — with the tax-free ceilings applied automatically. Kilometres driven in a personal car convert into a reimbursable amount using your configured rate, and every document of the trip stays linked to the rest.

  • Travel order generated in the app, with purpose, destination and dates.
  • Domestic and foreign per diem computed by day, with statutory ceilings applied.
  • Correct handling of partial departure and return days.
  • Mileage reimbursement for personal cars at your configured rate.
  • Accommodation, transport, tolls and parking attached to the same trip.
  • Foreign travel in other currencies, converted at the document-date rate.
  • Automatic flagging of amounts above the tax-free ceiling.
  • Per-trip report: total cost, by category, by project or client.

How per diem is calculated and where the tax-free cap sits

For domestic travel, the reference level is the one set for public institutions; for private employers, the allowance is tax-free up to 2.5 times that legal level, and since 2023 an additional monthly cap tied to the base salary applies, under the Codul fiscal / Legea nr. 227/2015 (the Romanian Fiscal Code). For foreign travel, the reference is set per country. 4expenses keeps these thresholds as configurable settings and calculates, for every trip, how much of the per diem is tax-free and how much exceeds the cap - so the taxable portion is identified before payroll runs, not discovered during a review.

Partial days, the classic trap in travel expense reports

Most per diem errors happen on the first and last day: leaving in the afternoon and returning in the morning are not treated the same as a full day, and the rules differ between domestic and foreign travel. The application applies those rules automatically, based on the departure and arrival times entered, and shows exactly how it arrived at the number of days - which puts an end to the back-and-forth between employee and finance over 'I was owed one more day'.

Mileage in a personal car and VAT on fuel

When an employee uses their own car, reimbursement is normally per kilometre driven, based on an internal rate. When they use a company car and buy fuel, the deduction rule kicks in: for vehicles not used exclusively for business, deductible VAT is limited to 50% (art. 298 of the Codul fiscal / Legea nr. 227/2015), and the expense is treated accordingly. 4expenses flags the vehicle type and the way it is used from the outset, so the export to accounting already carries the information needed for the correct treatment.

One file per trip, not scattered receipts

Every document belonging to a trip - the travel order, the per diem, the receipts, the accommodation invoice, the tickets - stays grouped together. In practice that means you can answer 'what did the visit to client X cost us?' without reconstructing anything, and at an audit you present a coherent file instead of a set of seemingly unrelated expenses.

Legal references

  • Legea nr. 227/2015 — Romanian Fiscal Code, art. 76 (travel allowance and tax-free ceilings)
  • HG nr. 714/2018 — domestic delegation and secondment entitlements (reference level)
  • HG nr. 518/1995 — foreign travel (per-country levels)
  • OMFP nr. 2634/2015 — travel order and expense report
  • Legea nr. 227/2015 — Romanian Fiscal Code, art. 298 (limited VAT deduction on vehicles)

Frequently asked questions

Is per diem taxable?

It is tax-free within the caps set by the Codul fiscal / Legea nr. 227/2015 (the Romanian Fiscal Code) - measured against the legal level set for public institutions and, since 2023, against a monthly cap linked to the base salary. Anything above those limits is taxed. 4expenses calculates and flags the portion that exceeds the cap.

How are the departure and return days treated?

The rules on the number of hours spent travelling apply, and they differ between domestic and foreign trips. The application calculates the days from the times entered and displays the reasoning, so it can be checked.

Can a personal car be reimbursed?

Yes, based on the kilometres driven and a configured internal rate. The trip record keeps the route and the purpose, so the reimbursed amount comes with its justification attached.

What document does the application generate for a trip?

The travel order and the matching expense report, in the form required by OMFP nr. 2634/2015, with the supporting documents attached.

How is travel across several foreign countries handled?

Per diem is calculated in segments, according to the country the employee is in on each day, and expenses in foreign currency are converted at the exchange rate of each document's date.

Related resources

4b2b.net
Business Ecosystem
4conta.ro
Accounting
4invoices.net
Invoicing App
4notify.net
Notifications
4hosting.net
Hosting
4database.net
Databases
4buildsite.net
Website Builder
4myapp.net
App Builder
4avatars.net
AI Avatars
4chaty.net
AI Chatbot
4webagency.net
Web Agency Software
4softedu.net
Education Websites
4softcrm.net
CRM Platform
4softerp.net
ERP System
4softhr.net
HR Management
4mystaff.net
Staff Portal
4expenses.net
Expense Management
4myprojects.net
Project Manager
4mycontracts.net
Contracts
4docs.net
Document Management
4appointments.net
Appointments
4marketingonline.net
Marketing
4insurance.net
Insurance
4property.net
Real Estate
4lawyers.net
Legal Software
4mygarage.net
Auto Service
4driving.net
Driving Schools
4fleet.net
Fleet Management
4myevents.net
Events
4therapy.net
Therapy
4clinics.net
Clinics
4dental.net
Dental Practices
4restaurants.net
Restaurants
4beautify.net
Beauty Salon
4gym.net
Fitness Gyms
4guards.net
Security Companies
4construct.net
Construction Companies
4marketplace.net
Marketplace
4shopy.net
Online Store
4pricing.net
Price Comparison
4salefood.net
Food Delivery
4rentify.net
Rentals
4transports.net
Transport
4agencytravel.net
Travel Agency
4hotel.net
Hotel Management
4ong.net
NGO Management
Per diem and business travel — 4expenses