Travel and subsistence exemptions for certain employments

Non-executive directors (NEDs)

Non-Irish resident NEDs

You can pay travel and subsistence expenses tax-free to your non-resident NEDs where they are attending company meetings. This is the case from 1 January 2016.

You can pay these expenses tax free where all the following apply:

  • the director must be a NED of the company
  • the director must be non-Irish resident
  • only vouched amounts (the Civil Service rates are not available) are covered
  • the meetings attended by the director must be for the purposes of conducting the business of the company.

Irish resident NEDs

You can pay travel and subsistence expenses tax-free to your resident NEDs where they are attending company meetings. This is the case from 1 January 2017.

You can pay the expenses tax free where all the following apply:

  • the director must be a NED of the company
  • the director must be Irish resident
  • the meetings attended by the director must be for the purposes of conducting the business of the company
  • the Civil Service rates are used to calculate expenses
  • the director’s annual pay (excluding travel and subsistence) must be no more than €5,000.

If a director serves for less than a year you must revise the amount of pay to an annualised figure. We use the revised figure to determine if the member is eligible for the exemption.

If you pay expenses at rates higher than the Civil Service rates, they must pay tax on the excess.

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