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Travel Allowance Calculator

How much of your travel allowance is tax-free? This calculator splits what your employer pays in ajudas de custo (and as compensation for using your own car) into the part that is exempt from income tax (IRS) and Social Security and the part that exceeds the legal limit and is therefore taxed. Enter the daily amount, the type of trip and the days; add the kilometres in your own car if relevant.

Enter the allowance per day and the days away. If you used your own car, add the kilometres and the amount the employer pays per km (default €0.40). The exempt limit depends on the type of trip and your category.

Exempt from income tax & Social Security
€197.67
Of a total €240.00 received
Taxed part (excess)
€42.33
Exempt limit per day: €65.89
Exempt limit per day€65.89
Travel allowance (total)€240.00
Travel allowance, exempt€197.67
Travel allowance, taxed (excess)€42.33
Total received€240.00
Total exempt€197.67
Total taxed€42.33
Social Security on the excess (11%)−€4.66

Whatever exceeds the limit stops being a travel allowance and counts as employment income (category A).

The taxed part also enters income tax, at your rate. This estimate only deducts the 11% Social Security; the income tax depends on your bracket.

Estimate for employees in mainland Portugal, with the 2026 limits (€65.89/€156.36 in general, €72.65/€175.42 for senior roles, €0.40/km). It does not compute the income tax on the excess or cover rules set by a specific collective agreement.

Educational estimate, not advice. The 2026 limits and the 11% Social Security are official. It does not compute the income tax on the taxed part. Always check your payslip.

Travel allowances are tax-free only up to a daily limit

Travel allowances (ajudas de custo) cover expenses (meals and lodging) when you work away from your usual place of work. They are not salary, so they are exempt from income tax and Social Security, but only up to the daily limits set for the public administration (article 2(3)(d) of the IRS Code). In 2026, for general workers, the limit is €65.89 a day for travel within Portugal and €156.36 a day for travel abroad.

Anything above the limit counts as salary

Whatever the employer pays above the daily limit stops being a travel allowance and becomes employment income (category A): it enters income tax, at your own rate, and the Social Security base (11% employee, 23.75% employer). The calculator shows that excess and deducts the 11% Social Security; the income tax depends on your bracket, so it is flagged but not computed.

Using your own car: €0.40 per kilometre

When you use your own car for work, the per-kilometre compensation is exempt up to €0.40 per km in 2026. If the employer pays exactly that, it is all tax-free; if it pays more, only the excess per kilometre is taxed. Enter the kilometres and, if you wish, the amount the employer pays per km to see the exempt and the taxed parts.

Directors and managers have higher limits

The daily limits come in two scales. The general-worker scale (€65.89 national / €156.36 international) and a higher one for directors, managers and government members (€72.65 national / €175.42 international). Pick your category to apply the right limit. Most employees use the general scale.

Rules that are not in the sum

To be entitled to a travel allowance, the trip must be more than 20 km from your home (daily travel) or more than 50 km (over successive days). The daily limit splits into lunch (25%), dinner (25%) and lodging (50%). And an allowance paid without a real trip, or systematically and without documentation, can lose the exemption and be taxed in full. These rules are explained in the article, not built into the calculation.

Worked example

Imagine a 3-day national trip, with the employer paying €80 of travel allowance a day. The exempt limit is €65.89, so €65.89 × 3 = €197.67 is tax-free and the €14.11 daily excess (€42.33 in total) is taxed: it pays 11% Social Security (€4.66) plus income tax at your rate. You received €240 in total, €197.67 of it tax-free. If you had driven 200 km in your own car at €0.40/km, that would add €80 fully exempt.

Frequently asked questions

What is the tax-free travel allowance in 2026?
For general workers, the limit exempt from income tax and Social Security is €65.89 a day for travel within Portugal and €156.36 a day for travel abroad. For directors, managers and government members the limits are higher (€72.65 and €175.42). These 2025 values carry over into 2026.
Do travel allowances pay income tax and Social Security?
No, as long as they do not exceed the legal daily limit. Up to that point they are exempt from income tax and Social Security. The part above the limit is treated as employment income (category A) and pays income tax, at your rate, and 11% Social Security (plus 23.75% borne by the employer).
How much do you get per kilometre in your own car?
The compensation for using your own car for work is exempt up to €0.40 per kilometre in 2026. If the employer pays more than that, only the excess per kilometre is taxed; the amount up to €0.40/km stays tax-free.
What is the difference between a travel allowance and the meal allowance?
They are different things. The meal allowance (subsídio de refeição) is a daily amount paid on any working day (with its own exempt limit). Travel allowances cover the cost of working away from your usual place of work (meals and lodging) and have the higher limits described here. You can receive both, but they are not the same.
How far do I have to travel to be entitled to a travel allowance?
The trip must be more than 20 km from your required home, for daily travel, or more than 50 km, for travel over successive days. Below those distances there is, as a rule, no entitlement to a travel allowance.
What happens if the employer pays travel allowances above the limit?
The part above the daily limit stops being a tax-free travel allowance and becomes employment income: it is added to your salary for income tax and Social Security. In addition, allowances paid systematically, without a real trip or without documentation, can be disregarded entirely as travel allowances by the tax authority.

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Author: Thorben Rasmus Idel · Reviewed by: Nahar Geva · Last reviewed: 2026-06-27