Expenses are costs that are incurred during a professional activity and are paid by the employer. Examples of these costs include travel costs, additional meal expenses, accommodation costs, travel costs and office supplies. Expenses are intended to compensate employees for expenses incurred during their work.
Types of expenses
Expenses can come in different forms depending on the company and country. Travel expenses, which cover expenses for business trips, are among the most common types of expenses. These include, for example, travel costs, accommodation costs, additional meal expenses and other costs incurred during the business trip. Employees must normally submit receipts for their expenses in order to be reimbursed.
The EU has guidelines for the reimbursement of expenses to ensure that employees are adequately compensated. Similar regulations apply in Switzerland, which govern the reimbursement of expenses and ensure that employees are not financially disadvantaged by their professional expenses.
Expense report
As a rule, expenses are claimed by entering and uploading receipts in a special form or online tool. Expenses are reimbursed after approval by the line manager. Employees must carefully document all expenses to ensure smooth accounting.
In some companies, fixed expense rates apply, which are set for specific expenses such as meal allowances. Flat rates may vary by country and region to facilitate expense reporting.
Tax treatment of expenses
Business expenses can be deducted from tax if they are business-related and can be substantiated. It is important to make a clear distinction between expenses and private costs. Tax authorities normally only accept expenses that are directly related to the professional activity and are reasonable.
It is important that employers ensure that the reimbursement of expenses complies with tax regulations in order to avoid problems with the tax authorities. There are specific regulations on the tax treatment of expenses in the EU and Switzerland that employers and employees must observe.
Compliance and expense policies
Many companies have clear expense policies in place to avoid abuse or confusion in expense claims. These guidelines specify which expenses are eligible for reimbursement, how they are to be claimed and which receipts must be submitted. To avoid problems when reimbursing expenses, it is important that employees familiarize themselves with the internal expense guidelines.
Employees must follow their company's guidelines exactly, otherwise they may face sanctions for non-compliance with the expense guidelines. To avoid legal consequences, companies in the EU and Switzerland must adhere to expense reporting compliance regulations.
