Reimbursement of costs proper to the employer - The Rulings Service accepts visit or stay expenses for the spouse and children of an expatriate worker

The Rulings Service recently decided that, in certain specific cases, visit or stay expenses for the family members of an expatriate worker may be reimbursed as costs proper to the employer.

On 13 May 2015, the Rulings Service issued an interesting decision concerning the reimbursement of costs proper to the employer. In the case referred to the Rulings Service, some workers, expatriates in distant countries, had the opportunity to return every two weeks to Belgium to visit their family.

These expenses incurred for coming back to their country of residence are considered as costs proper to the employer, non-taxable for workers and deductible for the companies that pay these expenses.

The unusual feature of the case, however, was that in order to limit the workers’ travel and to increase their productivity, the employer proposed to bear the expenses related to the stay and/or the visit of the spouse and children in the country of the workers’ activity.

The Rulings Service accepted that the reimbursement of the expenses of travel, hotel and transport of the spouse and children are considered as a reimbursement of costs proper to the employer.

It is however necessary that the expenses related to the stay and/or the visit of the spouse and children in the place of activity do not exceed the expenses that would have been incurred for the worker’s return to Belgium, in accordance with the company expenses policy.

Action point
Keep in mind that certain expenses which are incurred for the family members of your expatriate workers in distant countries could be qualified as costs proper to the employer.