Imagine this; you and a handful of your employees are planning a business trip for a few days. 

The schedule is packed with meetings during the day and some fun team-building activities in the evening. 

 While the business side is all set, you’re still unsure about the right travel allowance to provide your employees. 

You’ve probably got a few questions like: What are Revenue’s civil service overnight rates in 2025? How do I reimburse my employees for overnight trips? Are there any exceptions?

If these are some of the questions on your mind—you’ve definitely come to the right place. 

What’s a travel allowance in Ireland? 

A travel allowance in Ireland is a payment made to employees to cover the costs they incur while travelling for work-related purposes.  

This can include reimbursing expenses like accommodation, meals, or other costs when they’re working away from their usual workplace.  

It can also involve mileage payments for using their personal vehicles—like cars, motorcycles, or bicycles—for business travel. 

What are the civil service overnight rates within the State? 

Here are the civil service overnight rates within the State for 2025: 

Standard domestic subsistence rates 

Rate category	Rate
Normal rate	€205.53
Reduced rate	€184.98
Detention rate	€102.76

Overnight allowance applies to assignments lasting up to 24 hours and must be at least 100km away from your employee’s home and usual workplace.

The rates depend on the duration of the assignment:

• The normal rate applies for the first 14 nights. 
• The reduced rate covers the following 14 nights. 
• The detention rate applies for the next 28 nights.

If the assignment goes beyond 56 nights, you’ll need to reach out to Revenue to confirm that subsistence can still be paid.  

Keep in mind, the period of subsistence at any single location is limited to six months.  

Vouched accommodation (Dublin only) 

Vouched Accommodation (VA)	Accommodation		Meals
VA Rate	Vouched cost of accommodation up to €195.00	Plus	€46.17

What are the civil service overnight rates outside the State? 

Here are the civil service overnight rates outside the State for 2025:  

For a short-term assignment 

Period of assignment abroad	% of normal overnight rate
First month	100%
Second and third month	75%
Fourth, fifth and sixth month	50%

It’s worth noting that these rates can be applied to a single temporary assignment abroad lasting up to six months.  

For a long-term assignment 

In case you didn’t know, a long-term assignment is anything over six months.

During the first month, you can provide subsistence at the overnight rate to help your employees find self-catering accommodation.  

For the rest of the assignment, you can cover reasonable accommodation costs and 50% of the ten-hour day rate. 

How to reimburse your employees for overnight trips in Ireland 

Here’s how you can reimburse your employees for overnight trips in 2025.

You have three options:

• Use the civil service rates: this is by far the easiest option. You can reimburse your employees using the official civil service subsistence rates set by Revenue (see above). These rates are pre-approved and tax-free.
• Set your own rates: if you prefer, you can set your own reimbursement rates—but they must be equal to, or lower than, the civil service rates.
• Reimburse actual costs: you can also pay your employees back for the exact amount they spent on their trip.

Are there any conditions when reimbursing employees’ actual subsistence costs?

Yes, you’ll need to make sure that: 

• The expenses were incurred wholly, exclusively, and necessarily when carrying out the duties of their employment. 
• The costs were repaid on the basis of vouched receipts (such as hotel receipts). 

Please note that if you want to pay more than the civil service rates for overnight trips, you’ll need to get special approval from Revenue. 

Let’s look at some examples

Within the State

One of your employees, Alexis, is traveling from Dublin to Galway for a two-day conference.  

She leaves her home (in Dublin) early on Monday morning, and stays overnight in Galway, before returning late Tuesday evening. 

When Alexis returns, she submits a claim for her overnight travel allowance. Since Galway is more than 100 km from her home and workplace, and her stay lasted more than 24 hours, she qualifies for the civil service overnight allowance.

Using the civil service overnight rates, Alexis can claim the normal rate of €205.53 for her overnight stay.  

Outside the State 

You send David on a temporary assignment to Paris for three months to support an ongoing project. 

Since David’s assignment is abroad, he can claim a subsistence allowance under the civil service rates for overseas trips. Here’s how it works for his three-month stay: 

For the first 30 days of his assignment, David qualifies for 100% of the normal overnight rate. For example, if the rate for Paris is €180 per night, he can claim the full €180 per night for this period. 

For the next 60 days, David qualifies for 75% of the normal overnight rate. Using the same example (€180), he would receive €135 per night during these two months. 

Assuming you reimburse David using the civil service overnight rates, here’s the breakdown:

• First 30 days: €180 x 30 = €5,400 
• Next 60 days: €135 x 60 = €8,100
• Total reimbursement: € 13,500 

Have you met Capture Expense?

Whether you’re using the civil service overnight rates or setting your own rates (within the approved limits, don’t forget), Capture Expense will make sure that all your reimbursements are accurate, timely and in full compliance with Revenue. Book a demo today to see just how easy it is to use.