How is a business trip paid in 2021 according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation?

Guarantees and compensation for business travelers

When sending employees on business trips, the employer is obliged to maintain their places of work (positions) and average earnings, as well as reimburse expenses associated with the business trip, namely:

1. Travel expenses;
2. Expenses for renting residential premises;
3. Additional expenses associated with living outside the place of permanent residence (per diem);
4. Other expenses incurred by the employee with the permission or knowledge of the employer.

It is important to emphasize that persons working under civil contracts, as well as employees whose permanent work, in accordance with employment contracts, is carried out while traveling, are not sent on business trips.

At the same time, employees working remotely, as well as homeworkers, can be sent on business trips. When making a business trip, for example, from a place of permanent work (stationary workplace or from home) - to the location of the employing organization (by written order of the employer). Consequently, they can count on appropriate guarantees and compensation. This position was once again confirmed by specialists from the Russian Ministry of Labor in letter No. 14-2/OOG-4733 dated 06/09/2017.

A trip by an employee sent on a business trip based on a written decision of the employer to a separate unit of the sending organization (representative office, branch) located outside the place of permanent work is also recognized as a business trip.

...we believe that a remote worker’s trip to the employer’s head office is a business trip.

Letter of the Ministry of Labor of Russia dated 06/09/2017 No. 14-2/OOG-4733

Thus, the legislation establishes a special procedure for remuneration of personnel when performing official assignments of the employer outside the place of permanent work, and also provides for compensation for relevant expenses.

(Article 165, Article 166 and Article 167 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation)

Before we begin to describe the calculations, we will outline the basic rules and procedure for business trips, and list the documents that must be drawn up by the employer and the employee in the process of registering a business trip.

How is a business trip paid in 2021: average earnings

In Art. 167 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that an employee sent on a business trip retains the position held in the company and the average salary (AE). To calculate the amount payable for days on a business trip (C), you must use the formula:

C = SZ* K, where

K – number of days of business trip. When calculating this indicator, the accountant is guided by the company’s work schedule. He adds:

• working days spent at the destination;
• days spent traveling there or back.

For weekends and holidays that fall during the trip, the average salary is not paid in a situation where the employee was on vacation. If these dates were devoted to resolving official issues, the remuneration is calculated in a special manner.

Paying for a business trip based on average earnings involves the following algorithm for calculating it:

NW = W/BH, where:

• Z - the total salary received by the specialist for the billing period - 12 months preceding departure on the trip. For example, if a specialist goes on a business trip in May, the accountant will carry out calculations for the period from May 1 of the previous year to April 30 of the current year.
• K – number of days worked in the billing period.

Payment for business trips in 2021 involves two possible nuances in calculating SZ:

• If a specialist is sent on a business trip in the first month after employment, the SZ is calculated for the period from the first working day to the last date before departure.
• If in the previous 12 months the specialist was on leave for employment or to care for a young child, calculations are made for the year preceding this time.

The “K” indicator includes all days when the specialist was physically present at the service. Dates when the employee was absent for any reason (vacation, time off, temporary disability, business trip, etc.) are not summed up.

To determine wages during a business trip, you need to sum up all the citizen’s income related to work (salary, allowances, bonuses). The calculation does not include social benefits (sick leave benefits), travel allowances, amounts of financial assistance, food allowances, etc.

Average earnings saved while traveling are subject to income tax and insurance contributions. In the 2-NDFL certificate it is reflected using the code “2000”.

Procedure for business trips, payments and compensation

If there is a need to send an employee on a business trip, the following procedure is followed:

1. First of all, a corresponding administrative document is issued. Usually an order or instruction;
2. Based on this document, a travel certificate is issued. The document contains a mark indicating the employee’s departure from his place of permanent work;
3. The immediate superior of the posted employee draws up the job assignment;
4. The accounting department transfers to the employee’s card account or issues an advance in cash through the cash desk in the amount of the required daily allowance and expected expenses;
5. Within three days after arriving from a business trip, the employee returns to the accounting department a travel certificate signed by management (if issued) with notes on arrival/departure and an advance report;
6. Based on the advance report, the accounting department pays the missing amount of expenses or accepts an overpaid advance through the cash desk;
7. Payment for labor during a business trip is made along with the transfer of wages for the calendar month in which the official trip was carried out, based on the time sheet.

Note to points 2 and 3: Currently, the ID and job assignment are optional documents. However, it is recommended to draw them up so that there are no disputes with the Federal Tax Service.

Documentation of a business trip

It is important to remember that only a properly executed business trip can guarantee the preservation of wages and the covering of all necessary expenses associated with it. However, in practice, questions and disagreements often arise regarding reimbursement of travel expenses. In this case, our lawyer will help resolve most of the issues by providing a free online consultation.

So, travel allowances are paid on the basis of the following documents:

1. Order to go on a business trip;
2. A travel document with a note indicating arrival and departure from each destination (including the organization that sent the employee) with signatures of authorized persons and seals of the relevant organizations;
3. Advance report, which describes in detail the receipt and expenditure of the amounts issued;
4. Documents confirming the expenses incurred by the employee (tickets, invoices, checks, etc. For convenience, they are pasted on a sheet of paper and attached to the expense report);
5. A time sheet for the period of work in which the business trip was made - to calculate wages for the days of departure.

The Ministry of Finance of Russia, when considering the issue of insurance premiums and personal income tax when compensating employees with a traveling nature of work for expenses associated with business trips, expressed the following opinion:

“In the absence of documents confirming employee expenses, the compensatory nature of these payments is lost and the indicated income is subject to personal income tax in the prescribed manner.”

Letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 17, 2019 No. 03-15-05/1909

Next, we will consider in detail each of the payments due to a posted employee, indicating all the important nuances and possible controversial issues.

A posted employee is entitled to the following types of payments for work outside the permanent workplace:

Salary during a business trip

As already mentioned, the salary during a business trip is somewhat similar to that given at the beginning of the vacation.

Thus, its average size is calculated based on the average annual earnings of an employee who is sent on a work trip.

At the same time, it is worth noting that during a business trip the employee is entitled to many payments, which include not only the salary itself, but also:

• reimbursement of housing costs;
• funds for expenses related to work activities during a business trip;
• payment for transport to and from the business trip.

Some of the announced payments are issued to the employee before the start of the trip, and some after his arrival. At the same time, not all payments have clearly defined amounts. They all depend on factors such as exchange rates, ticket prices and accommodation.

Upon returning from a business trip, an employee must report and provide the employer with checks, receipts, and other documents confirming expenses during the business trip.

Read how to apply for a business trip extension. What is the minimum travel period? See here.

How are days paid?

Before you start calculating payroll during a business trip, you must correctly determine the number of paid days.

As mentioned above, wages during a work trip are accrued only on those days that are working days, according to the company schedule. Therefore, the accountant must have a time sheet at hand. This is especially important in cases where the company’s schedule is flexible.

Payment for work on a business trip

Calculation of earnings for the period of being on a business trip is based on the average salary of the employee. The first rule in this regard is the procedure for determining the period of work for which income data is taken into account:

• As a general rule, the average income is calculated for the calendar year preceding the beginning of the month in which the person was posted;
• If a person has not yet worked for one year in the company, his average salary will be calculated for the time elapsed from the moment he was hired until the beginning of the corresponding calendar month;
• For people hired and seconded in one calendar month, the period for calculating average earnings is determined by the number of days they actually worked.

After determining the billing period, it is important to correctly exclude from it the days when, while receiving various types of payments from the organization, the employee did not actually work. Among them:

• Days spent on sick leave and maternity leave;
• Days paid at the average salary (vacation, business trip);
• Days of downtime due to the fault of the employer;
• Leave at your own expense and leave to care for a child;
• The period of a strike without the participation of this employee;
• Special days off established by law for caring for a disabled child.

Average income for a period of part-time work is calculated based on the actual time worked. When accounting for working hours in total, the calculation is made based on average hourly earnings.

To determine the amount you will need to do the following:

1. Payments accrued to an employee for the calculation period should be divided by the amount of days worked from the same period;
2. The resulting amount is multiplied by the number of business trip days.

When calculating the average salary for travel payments, the following situations often arise regarding the ratio of the employee’s regular daily salary to the average:

1. When the average salary exceeds the regular salary, travel allowances are made at the average;
2. If the average earnings are lower than the daily salary, local regulations (legal acts) of most organizations allow additional payments to be made in order to avoid infringement of the rights of workers.

In practice, very often there are cases when a person has to spend his weekends on a business trip:

1. Directly performing official duties;
2. While on the road to your destination or returning home.

In such a case, the legislation contains rules establishing the following remuneration options:

• Double payment;
• Single payment with the provision of time off upon arrival at the place of work.

The controversial issue regarding payment for subsequent trips to work for an employee to whom “double payments” were made does not currently have a clear answer. An unofficial interpretation from government sources calls not to take into account double payment for business trips during the period of calculating the average salary.

Salary issues

According to the general rule, during the period of performance of an official assignment, full-time employees of the enterprise retain their average earnings. When calculating wages for the period of departure, the periods in which social benefits were accrued and other time during which the specialist was actually absent from work are excluded from the payments taken into account. The calculation algorithm approved by the legislator excludes from the calculation of average earnings days in which duties were not actually performed. Most often, bonuses are excluded to compensate for absence due to business needs; such issues are discussed with the employer individually. For cases where the business traveler has not worked a full year at the time of departure, all calculations are based on data on the actual time worked.

Business trip 2018

Recalculations upon departure of employees: additional payments

In practice, there are often cases when the amount of average monthly earnings is much less than the actual salary. This happens when an employee moves up a job. To pre-empt an unfair situation, employers can use a hybrid pay scheme. In this case, the employee will not be infringed on his rights. So, knowing how a business trip is paid in 2021, the employee will not have any complaints. When performing a job assignment in a new capacity (for example, as a deputy head of a department), a person will be motivated by fair pay.

Application of night and overtime standards

The involvement of enterprise employees in performing duties outside the work schedule is permitted with their consent. According to the norms of the Labor Code, such employees are entitled to double payment after the first two hours. the period from 10 to 12 pm must be calculated at time and a half tariff. At the same time, the legislation indicates the possibility of providing additional rest time for such periods.

The same rules apply to business trips. Thus, when performing a job assignment, the manager’s tasks are expected to be carried out within as short a time as possible. Since it is almost impossible to record night and overtime hours outside the office, these issues are discussed with the head of the department. In the timesheet, it will be possible to enter such hours according to the general rules under the letter “K”.

What if an employee is on duty on holidays and weekends?

Often, when paying for business trips in 2021, the question arises about payment for the period of being away from the workplace during the non-working period. Similarly, with the consent of the employee, it is allowed to attract a departing employee during such periods with the payment of appropriate compensation. There are two options for motivation:

• Increased wages. This may be double or higher tariff;
• For work on a business trip on weekends as well as holidays, regular payment may be made and additional rest time may be provided.

*The choice of payment option is at the discretion of the employee. Clarification of motivation is carried out through a written statement.

Remuneration for seconded shift workers and piece workers

These categories of employees are calculated by the accounting department based on the average salaries received at their main place of work. If it is necessary to pay wages to shift workers during a business trip, they rely on the current workers’ schedules. If the performance of official duties falls outside of normal working hours, compensation will need to be paid in accordance with night-time or weekend standards.

How are travel allowances paid - daily allowance calculation

The payment of daily allowances is for the most part regulated by collective agreements or other local acts of legal entities. And the main limitation for the employer in determining the amount of such payments is the imposition of personal income tax (NDFL) on amounts exceeding the limit. In accordance with this criterion, the amount of daily remuneration for seconded workers in most companies does not exceed 700 rubles. - the amount of daily allowance for a business trip in 2021 in Russia and 2,500 rubles . - on a business trip abroad.

As noted earlier, the specifics of a one-day business trip involve, in most cases, arriving home on the day of departure. Daily payments are intended to reimburse the employee’s expenses caused by a round-the-clock stay outside his home, in a foreign settlement. In this regard, daily payments for a one-day business trip are subject to personal income tax. The only exception to this rule is one-day business trips, for which the employee receives half of the daily compensation established by the organization.

Important features of this type of travel allowance are:

• the absence of a legal requirement for documentary evidence of their expenditure by a business traveler;
• accrual of daily allowances for each day of business travel, including holidays and weekends.

There are some specifics in calculating daily allowances for payment of foreign business trips:

1. Daily allowances are issued in foreign currency at the rate existing at the time of issuance of funds;
2. It is advisable to pay daily allowances for the last day of a foreign business trip in the amount established for domestic trips (700 rubles), which is associated with crossing the border of the Russian Federation on that day (tax authorities, when giving such recommendations, refer to clause 18 of the Regulations on Business Travel).

Some companies practice paying the traveler's meals in full instead of paying per diem.

Other expenses

During days on a business trip, employees may spend money on natural needs that are not related to the task. For example, issues of paying for food can quite logically be tied to the day of stay at the place of business trip. Such expenses may or may not be included in the accommodation fee. A scheme of maneuvering the amount of daily allowance is often used, for example, the norm is 500 rubles excluding meals and 700 rubles with payment of expenses in canteens.

The composition of daily expenses reimbursed by employers to posted workers is quite diverse. At the same time, the enterprise administration can often make concessions within the framework of current legislation. Today, a business trip remains a pleasant way to get away from everyday work with the opportunity to show the results of production activities outside the company walls.

Similar articles

• How are travel days paid?
• Registration of business trips in 2021 documents
• Shortened pre-holiday working day according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation
• Business travel allowances in 2021
• Business trip 2018

Calculation of travel allowances with excluded days

Example:

An employee's salary from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2021 is 5,000 rubles. From June 1, 2021, the employee takes 28 days of vacation. The employee was ill for 10 calendar days - from March 14 to March 23 (in March, 31 days of which 21 were worked) of 2021, inclusive.

Travel allowance = salary: 29.4 days. *( M + (29.4 days : Kdn1[31] * Kotr1[21]) * D

Travel allowance = salary [for 12 months. 5000*12=60,000] : [29.4] days. *(M[11 - because the employee had no excluded days for all 11 months] + 29.4 days: Kdn1[31] * Cotr1[21] * D[28] )= 4,893.45 rub.

• D - number of calendar days of vacation.

• M is the number of fully worked months in the billing period;
• Kdn1 - the number of calendar days in months not fully worked;

Kotr1 - the number of calendar days in “incomplete” months falling on the time worked.

Payment for business trips - reimbursement of expenses

Compensation for expenses incurred by a person in connection with his stay on a business trip is also regulated by the local regulations of the legal entity, but is limited by the need to pay personal income tax. Thus, the following types of travel expenses are not subject to taxation and insurance:

• For travel (including baggage allowance);
• For renting housing;
• For communication services;
• For international passport and visas;
• For currency exchange.

At the same time, housing rental costs are exempt from tax with a certain limit on their daily amount:

• 700 rub. – for business trips within the Russian Federation;
• 2,500 rub. - for business trips abroad.

An important rule for exempting the listed expenses from personal income tax is their documentary evidence. The following are considered supporting documents:

1. Travel ticket, paper printout of an electronic travel document, boarding pass, cash receipt from a taxi, documentation confirming the use of personal transport - to confirm travel expenses;
2. An invoice or cash receipt from a hotel, rental agreement, contracts, invoices, checks for payment of real estate services - to confirm living expenses;
3. Invoices for payment of communication services, lists of telephone calls, luggage check - to confirm other expenses.

Local regulations of the employing organization may provide for any other types of travel expenses and their restrictions, and even payment of expenses without presenting supporting documents.

In conclusion, we note that any violation of the rights and interests of an employee, including incorrect calculation of travel allowances, can be appealed by him in court. You can also find answers to other questions on the topic, for example, how to cancel a business trip, on our website.

Business trips on weekends and holidays

How days on a business trip that fall on holidays and weekends are paid depends on whether the subordinate worked or not.

If an employee did not work on a weekend or holiday, then there is no need to pay for the days according to average earnings. For example, a specialist is sent on a business trip for 10 days, including 1 holiday and 2 days off. Calculate the average earnings only for the 7 working days of your stay on a business trip.

IMPORTANT!

You pay per diem for all days, regardless of whether the specialist worked or not. Include in the calculation working days, holidays, weekends, travel and downtime days, departure and return days.

If an employee worked on a weekend or holiday while on a business trip, then pay for this time in the following amount:

• at least one time from the tariff rate (official salary), if the employee requested additional rest time;
• no less than twice the tariff rate (official salary), if the employee decides to refuse time off.

IMPORTANT!

When calculating payment for work on weekends and holidays, take into account not only the official salary, but also compensation and incentive payments, allowances and additional payments provided for by the current remuneration system. For example, regional coefficients, additional payment for experience, bonus for qualifications.

A similar payment procedure applies if an employee goes on a business trip on a weekend or holiday. Or returns from it. For example, a specialist goes on a trip on May 1. This is a holiday. Therefore, the employer must offer double pay or time off and pay in a single amount.