© - ATH all rights reserved - Edition 2024 48 EMPLOYER’S GUIDE 2024 THE PRINCIPLE OF BUSINESS EXPENSES Employees must be reimbursed for costs they can justify they have incurred for the purposes of their work and in the interests of the company. They are exempt from social security contributions if they meet the following requirements : • Correspond to business expenses, • Are justified by adequate invoices and receipts to prove that the expenses were incurred and the amount of the expenses, • Are reasonable. The employer determines the terms under which business expenses are reimbursed. VALUATION OF BUSINESS EXPENSES Business expenses are covered : • By the reimbursement of expenses actually incurred by the employee based on receipts, • By the payment of fixed allocations. The relevant authorities set the amount of fixed sums for different categories of business expenses. If the allocation paid by the employer is less than the schedule established, it is deemed to have been used as intended and is excluded from social contributions. If the allocation paid by the employer is higher than the amount set by the authority, the sum paid can only be exempt from social security contributions in its entirety if the employer provides supporting documents. Otherwise, the difference must be reintegrated into the base for contributions if the expense account is issued but the employer does not provide supporting documents. Company officers are only entitled to payment of business expenses on the basis of expenses actually incurred. SPECIFIC FIXED DEDUCTION FOR BUSINESSES EXPENSES Some occupations benefit from a specific fixed deduction for business expenses that allows the reduction of the base of social security contributions (construction workers, sales reps, journalists, etc.). However, its application is now subject to the employee incurring the expenses when performing BUSINESS EXPENSES 23 What you need to know : Business expenses are specific costs, inherent in the employee’s role or job, which are incurred by the employee in performing his/her duties. Business expenses are not included in the base for social security contributions if they are justified.
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