Spain per diem and mileage IRPF-exempt 2026: complete guide for employers

What are per diems and why can they be IRPF-exempt?

In Spain, "dietas" (per diems) are the amounts an employer pays an employee to compensate meals, lodging and transport expenses arising from a trip outside the usual workplace. They are not salary in the strict sense: they are a reimbursement of expenses.

Article 9 of Law 35/2006 on IRPF (LIRPF) and, in particular, article 9 of the IRPF Regulation (RD 439/2007) declare certain amounts exempt provided that the maximum caps and the formal requirements are respected.

The latest relevant adjustment was Order HFP/792/2023 of 12 July, which raised the IRPF-exempt mileage from 0.19€ to 0.26€ per kilometre. The meal and lodging amounts remain in force under the Regulation.

Correctly applied, per diems are not taxed under IRPF, do not contribute to Social Security and are a deductible expense for the employer. Incorrectly applied (no proof, above caps, no actual trip) the AEAT reclassifies them as salary and the employer faces a regularisation with surcharges.

2026 IRPF-exempt per diem table (official amounts)

These are the daily IRPF-exempt amounts applicable in 2026 to work-related trips in Spain and abroad. Amounts are per day and per employee:

Source: IRPF Regulation (RD 439/2007 art. 9) and Order HFP/792/2023. Amounts in force as of 14 May 2026. Always check the latest version published in BOE before applying.

Requirements for per diems to be IRPF-exempt

Applying the amounts above is not automatic. For the AEAT to accept the exemption, five cumulative conditions must be met:

• 1. Documentary evidence. The employer must keep proof of the trip (travel log, hotel invoice, restaurant ticket, train ticket) and of the business reason. Tickets with tax ID (NIF) where applicable.
• 2. Travel to a different municipality. The trip must be to a municipality different from both the usual workplace and the employee's residence. Lunch next to the office does not generate an exempt per diem.
• 3. Employment relationship. The regime applies only to employment income (employees with a labour contract). Self-employed workers follow a different regime (art. 30.2.5 LIRPF).
• 4. Do not exceed the caps. If the employer pays more than 26.67€/53.34€/0.26€ (or their foreign equivalents), the excess loses the exemption. The legal portion stays exempt; only the excess is taxed.
• 5. Withholding on the excess. The difference is treated as employment income: the employer must withhold IRPF, report it in Modelo 111/190 (Spanish withholding tax returns) and pay Social Security contributions on it.

2026 mileage: the change introduced by Order HFP/792/2023

Until July 2023, the IRPF-exempt mileage had been frozen at 0.19€/km for more than two decades. Order HFP/792/2023 of 12 July raised it to 0.26€/km to reflect the real cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance. This is the figure in force in 2026.

The exemption covers the use of the employee's private vehicle for work reasons. There is no overall cap: what matters is that every kilometre is justified and linked to a specific business reason.

How to justify the mileage:

• Signed expense report with date, business reason, origin and destination.
• Km calculated with a map app (Google Maps, Waze) or the GPS of the expense app.
• Cross-reference with the business calendar or the visit plan.
• Fuel receipt (optional, reinforces the evidence).

Tolls and parking are reimbursed separately, they are not included in the 0.26€/km. They are reimbursed at 100% against receipt (ticket, invoice) and are also IRPF-exempt provided they relate to the business trip.

Worked examples (3 numeric scenarios)

Three real-world situations showing how the IRPF-exempt caps apply in 2026.

What if the employer pays ABOVE the caps?

Nothing dramatic happens, but the excess is taxed. The employer can pay more than 26.67€ or 0.26€/km if its internal policy allows it, but the excess loses the exemption and is treated as employment income.

Concrete implications:

• The employer withholds IRPF on the excess in the employee's payroll (at the employee's marginal rate).
• The excess contributes to Social Security on both employer and employee sides.
• It appears in Modelo 111 (quarterly withholdings) and Modelo 190 (annual summary).
• It is declared on the employee's withholding certificate and on their personal income tax return.

Example: if the employer pays 0.40€/km and the exempt cap is 0.26€/km, the extra 0.14€ per kilometre is treated as salary. For 500 km per month, that is 70€ that is taxed and contributes to Social Security as payroll.

What if the employer pays BELOW the caps?

Here the answer is less favourable to the employee than many assume. If the employer pays, for example, 0.19€/km instead of 0.26€/km, the employee cannot deduct the difference in their personal IRPF return.

The exempt per diem regime under art. 9 of the IRPF Regulation is an employer-employee scheme: either the employer applies it, or it is lost. The difference is not a deductible expense for the employee on the personal tax return.

What the employee can do:

• Negotiate with the employer to update the expense policy to the IRPF-exempt amounts.
• Check whether the collective bargaining agreement (convenio colectivo) sets a higher minimum (some sector-level agreements impose a specific amount).
• Keep personal receipts in case of retroactive reimbursement.

How to document per diems and mileage correctly

In an audit, the AEAT will request specific evidence for every per diem declared as exempt. Without documentation, the exemption falls even if the amounts are within the cap. The minimum standard per trip:

• Original receipt. Ticket, simplified invoice or full invoice (depending on the type of expense). If digitised, it must be done with a system aligned with AEAT certified digitization to destroy the paper while keeping legal validity (RD 1619/2012, Order EHA/962/2007).
• Signed expense report. A document including date, business reason, origin, destination and category (meals, lodging, transport, mileage).
• Purpose of the trip. Client visited, meeting, training, event. Cross-checkable against the business calendar and the CRM.
• Trip data. For mileage: kilometres driven, vehicle licence plate, route. For public transport: ticket with dates and route.
• 4-year retention. The employer must keep documentation for the 4-year general tax statute of limitations (art. 66 LGT). In practice, 6 years is advisable to align with the Spanish Commercial Code retention period.

Doing this with paper tickets and physical folders is possible, but fragile: thermal tickets fade, signatures get lost and the audit trail breaks. That is why many employers move to expense management software that centralises capture, validation and archiving.

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

The three most frequent mistakes we see in tax reviews of mid-sized Spanish employers:

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

Direct links to the regulations and to the AEAT electronic office consulted for this guide:

• Law 35/2006 IRPF — art. 9 (BOE) — Consolidated text with the general regime for per diems and expense allowances.
• IRPF Regulation RD 439/2007 (BOE) — Art. 9: IRPF-exempt amounts for per diems and mileage.
• Order HFP/792/2023 of 12 July (BOE) — Update of IRPF-exempt mileage to 0.26€/km.
• AEAT electronic office — IRPF — Tax queries, forms and updated practical manuals.