Reference: Travel expenses
Meal allowances (Verpflegungsmehraufwand), overnight stays and mileage allowance for business trips in Germany since 2015.
The tax allowances for business trips within Germany: meal allowances (Verpflegungsmehraufwand) for full days, arrival and departure days and absences of more than eight hours, the reduction for meals provided, the overnight allowance for reimbursement without receipts, the allowance for nights in the employer's vehicle and the mileage rates. For any date since 2015.
Endpoints and calls
#| Access | Call |
|---|---|
| REST API | GET /hr/reisekosten-inland |
| History | GET /hr/reisekosten-inland/verlauf |
| SDK JavaScript | qk.hr.reisekostenInland(…) |
| SDK Python | qk.hr.reisekosten_inland(…) |
| CLI | qk reisekosten-inland --datum 2026-10-01 |
| MCP tool | hr_reisekosten_inland |
Parameters
#| Name | Type | Required | Default | Allowed | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
datum | date (YYYY-MM-DD) | no | heute | Effective date in the format YYYY-MM-DD. Defaults to today. | |
bestandteil | text | no | verpflegung_24_stunden, verpflegung_an_abreisetag, verpflegung_ueber_8_stunden, kuerzung_fruehstueck_prozent, kuerzung_mittag_abend_prozent, uebernachtung_pauschale_arbeitgeber, uebernachtung_berufskraftfahrer, kilometer_pkw, kilometer_andere_kfz | Return and cite only this component, for example for a single question (optional). Allowed values are the component ids. |
The API rejects unknown parameters with unbekannter_parameter. In addition there are format and trennzeichen, see CSV.
Response fields
#| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
datensatz | Text | Dataset id |
datum | Date | Requested effective date |
vorlaeufig | Boolean | true if not all values are set yet for the effective date |
werte | Object | Short form: component and value on the effective date, null for an announced value that is not set yet |
bestandteile | List | Per component: value or rate, validity, legal basis and source |
regeln | List | Rules from the law in sentences, each with its legal provision |
hinweise | List | Limits of the values or the calculation, in sentences |
lizenz | Text | Terms of use for the values |
stand | Date | Date of the last check against the source |
zitat | Text | Ready-made sentence for citing, with value, validity, legal basis and source |
datenstand | Text | Id of the data snapshot: date and sequence number of the last changelog entry (/v1/aenderungen) affecting this dataset. The same datenstand means unchanged content, useful for auditors and for comparing two requests |
Components
#For each effective date, the response contains the components that apply, each with id, name, gruppe, einheit, wert, gueltig_ab, rechtsgrundlage, quelle, hinweis and naechster_wert. The werte object holds the same list in short form. A component is missing if it does not yet or no longer apply on that date.
| id | Component | Unit | First level | Current value | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
verpflegung_24_stunden | Meal allowance for days with 24 hours of absence | euros per day | January 1, 2015 | €28 per day | open |
verpflegung_an_abreisetag | Meal allowance for the arrival and departure day with an overnight stay | euros per day | January 1, 2015 | €14 per day | open |
verpflegung_ueber_8_stunden | Meal allowance for more than 8 hours of absence without an overnight stay | euros per day | January 1, 2015 | €14 per day | open |
kuerzung_fruehstueck_prozent | Reduction of the meal allowance for a breakfast provided | percent | January 1, 2015 | 20% | open |
kuerzung_mittag_abend_prozent | Reduction of the meal allowance per lunch or dinner provided | percent | January 1, 2015 | 40% | open |
uebernachtung_pauschale_arbeitgeber | Domestic overnight allowance for tax-free reimbursement by the employer | euros per night | January 1, 2015 | €20 per night | open |
uebernachtung_berufskraftfahrer | Overnight allowance for nights in the employer's vehicle (professional drivers), per calendar day | euros per day | January 1, 2020 | €9 per day | open |
kilometer_pkw | Mileage rate for business trips in your own motor vehicle (for example a car) | euros per kilometer | January 1, 2015 | €0.30 per km | open |
kilometer_andere_kfz | Mileage rate for business trips in other motor vehicles (for example a motorcycle) | euros per kilometer | January 1, 2015 | €0.20 per km | open |
Example
#Call with datum = 2026-10-01. The response is generated by the same code that answers the API.
History
#Every level since 2015 in one call, as JSON or with format=csv as CSV. The last two levels:
Error cases
#| Status | Code | When |
|---|---|---|
| 400 | ungueltiger_parameter | wrong format or a value outside: bestandteil (verpflegung_24_stunden, verpflegung_an_abreisetag, verpflegung_ueber_8_stunden, kuerzung_fruehstueck_prozent, kuerzung_mittag_abend_prozent, uebernachtung_pauschale_arbeitgeber, uebernachtung_berufskraftfahrer, kilometer_pkw, kilometer_andere_kfz) |
| 400 | unbekannter_parameter | a parameter this dataset does not have |
| 404 | kein_wert | outside the coverage (from 2015) or the value for this period has not been promulgated yet |
| 401, 429 | see errors | all error codes |
Schema for MCP
#This is how the MCP server describes the arguments of the tool hr_reisekosten_inland:
Source and freshness
#| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Source | § 9 Abs. 1 and 4a EStG, § 5 BRKG, R 9.7 LStR |
| License | Values from official works (§ 5 UrhG). Use of the compilation under the Quellenkontor terms of use. |
| Updates | when the law changes |
| Coverage | Germany, from 2015 |
| Last checked | September 24, 2026 |
| Next expected change | when § 9 EStG or the Federal Travel Expenses Act changes |
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