Austrian Per Diem 5/5/15 Rules

For customers affected by the associated labor law, Chrome River supports 5/5/15 Rule tax calculations for Austrian per diem on domestic trips of 120 km or fewer. Per diem is taxable when a user works in the same municipality for more than 5 days or 15 days—a full explanation is provided below. If your organization is interested in taking advantage of this feature, please submit a case via the Chrome River Help Desk. 

Rule of 5 for Frequent Travelers

If a user travels to the same location for 5 consecutive days, from the 6th day onward, the user's per diem will be taxed.

If a user travels to the same location 5 times at least once every week, then, starting with the 6th trip to the same location, the user's per diem will be taxed.

• If the user does not travel to the location for an entire week, then the counting of 5 days (Rule of 5) will be reset.
• For calculation purposes, a "week" begins on a Monday and ends on a Sunday.

For every travel day starting with the 6th day, the Rule of 5 tax will be applied even if there is an interruption of more than a week.

• If there is an interruption of more than 180 days, then the Rule of 5 will stop being applied and the per diem will no longer be taxed.
• The counting of 5 trips will begin again after the interruption of 180 days, and the per diem will start being taxed from 6th trip onward (as long as the user does not miss an entire week).

Rule of 15 for Infrequent Travelers

If a user travels to the same location for 15 days, from the 16th day onward, the user's per diem will be taxed.

• There are no criteria for interruption. The Rule of 15 tax applies after 16 total days, regardless of whether they were consecutive.

For every travel day starting with the 16th day, the Rule of 15 tax will be applied even if there is an interruption.

The Rule of 15 tax will be stop being applied on January 1 of each year, and the counting of 15 days will restart. Once the user reaches 16th day, the tax will again be applied until the end of the year.

Special Case: Infrequent Traveler Starts Traveling Frequently

If an infrequent traveler (not traveling to the same location every week) changes their travel pattern to frequent travel (traveling to the same location every week), then the Rule of 5 tax will be applied from the 6th trip onward.

The Rule of 5 will continue to apply until there is an interruption of more than 180 days.

Definition of "Same Location"

Travel destinations within the same postal code will be considered the "same location" for the 5/5/15 Rules.

Example

If the traveler visits the location OT Markt, Marcotelstraße 1, 2401 Fischamend, Austria and the location Marcotelstraße 2, 2401 Fischamend, Austria, these will be considered to be within the same area of activity, and the 5/5/15 Rules will apply to these locations.

If traveler visits the first location for 3 consecutive days and the second location for the next 2 consecutive days, then the 6th day at any location within the same postal code (in this case, 2401) will fall under the Rule of 5.

Additional Information

• In Chrome River, the 5/5/15 Rules may be applied to domestic Austrian locations only.
• Chrome River will apply the 5/5/15 Rules to short-distance trips of 120 km or fewer only (regardless of whether or not the trip is overnight).
• The counting of days for Rule of 5 can begin on any day of the week, not just Monday. However, an interruption of the Rule of 5 calculations occurs only when the traveler does not visit the same location for a calendar week (i.e., starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday).