HMRC Subsistence Rates 2026: UK Meal Allowance Guide

Meal claims look simple until they hit the finance team.

One employee claims £4.80 for lunch after a client visit. Another claims dinner after a late train home. Someone else submits a receipt for coffee during their normal commute.

Suddenly, what should be a routine expense becomes a policy question.

HMRC subsistence rates help employers reimburse employees for meals and necessary travel costs consistently. But they're not a blank cheque. The journey, timing, evidence, and business purpose still matter.

Quick answer: What are the HMRC subsistence rates?

HMRC’s benchmark meal rates are the maximum amounts employers can pay tax and National Insurance free for qualifying business travel, without agreeing a bespoke rate with HMRC.

The current UK benchmark rates are:

If a qualifying journey lasts beyond 8 pm and the employee receives the £5 or £10 rate, a supplementary £10 rate may also be paid where the conditions are met.

These rates only apply where the qualifying travel and subsistence conditions are met.

Employers can pay less than HMRC’s benchmark rates. If they pay more without agreeing a bespoke scale rate with HMRC, the excess may be subject to tax and National Insurance.

What does “subsistence” mean?

Subsistence usually means meals and other necessary costs an employee incurs while travelling for work.

HMRC’s travel and subsistence guidance says this can include meals and other necessary costs of travelling, such as:

• Parking charges

• Tolls

• Congestion charges

• Business phone calls

For finance teams, the important point is this: subsistence is linked to business travel. It's not a general daily food allowance, and it does not usually cover ordinary commuting.

When can employees claim meal expenses?

Employees can usually receive benchmark subsistence payments, tax and National Insurance-free, only where HMRC’s qualifying conditions are met.

For HMRC benchmark scale rates, the core conditions are that:

• The travel is in the performance of the employee’s duties, or to a temporary workplace

• The journey is not substantially ordinary commuting

• The employee is away from their normal workplace or home for the required continuous period

• The employee has incurred the cost of a meal after starting the journey

• Appropriate evidence is retained

HMRC’s current benchmark rates are £5 for 5 hours, £10 for 10 hours, and £25 for 15 hours, where the journey is ongoing at 8 pm.

HMRC also says a supplementary £10 rate can apply where a £5 or £10 rate is paid, and the qualifying journey continues beyond 8 pm.

What does not usually qualify?

Some claims should be treated carefully, even if the employee was working that day.

Examples that may not qualify include:

• Meals bought during an ordinary commute

• Meals eaten at home

• Food or drink bought before the qualifying journey started

• Claims where no meal cost was actually incurred

• A second claim for a meal already included in accommodation or another reimbursed cost

• Private or non-business travel

HMRC guidance on ordinary commuting says there is generally no tax relief for travel between an employee’s home and permanent workplace.

HMRC also states that an employee can only be reimbursed for a meal once, so if breakfast or dinner is already included in an overnight stay, the employee would not also be entitled to a benchmark rate for that meal.

Do employees need to keep receipts?

This is where policies often get messy.

From 6 April 2019, HMRC’s internal manual says employers using benchmark scale rates no longer need to operate a system for checking the employee’s actual expenditure for those payments.

Instead, employers need to ensure the employee undertook qualifying travel and that there is no reason to know or suspect the travel did not happen.

However, HMRC also says employers must have a system in place to check benchmark or bespoke rate payments, and employees should keep proof of expenses, such as receipts or bills, in case they are needed.

Are subsistence payments taxable?

They do not usually need to be taxed or reported where they meet the exemption rules.

HMRC says some business travel expenses are covered by exemptions, meaning they do not need to be included in end-of-year reports.

If there is no exemption, the cost must be reported on form P11D, although for business travel, HMRC says there is no tax or National Insurance to deduct or pay in that scenario.

If an employer reimburses more than the necessary cost of business travel, the extra amount counts as earnings and should be processed through payroll for PAYE tax and Class 1 National Insurance.

The safest wording for your policy would be something like:

"Meal allowances may be paid tax and National Insurance free where they meet HMRC qualifying conditions and the company’s expense policy."

That gives finance enough room to deal with exceptions.

How should employers report subsistence expenses?

It depends on whether the expense is exempt, payrolled, or reportable.

HMRC says taxable expenses and benefits can be reported through payroll or online at the end of the tax year.

If all expenses and benefits are payrolled, employers do not need to submit end-of-year reports for each employee, but still need to submit a P11D(b) for Class 1A National Insurance where relevant.

If benefits are not payrolled, employers must submit a P11D for each employee who received taxable expenses or benefits.

For deadlines, HMRC lists 6 July after the end of the tax year for reporting expenses and benefits, giving employees a copy of the information, and reporting total Class 1A National Insurance owed.

How long should expense records be kept?

HMRC says employers must keep records of all expenses and benefits provided to employees.

Records should show that end-of-year forms are correct, and HMRC may ask for evidence of how each expense or benefit was accounted for.

HMRC states that records must be kept for 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to.

For subsistence claims, finance teams should consider keeping:

• Date of travel

• Start and end point

• Business purpose

• Duration of journey

• Rate claimed

• Expense receipt (or e-receipt) or supporting evidence where collected

• Approver name and approval date

• Notes for exceptions

This also helps when employees query rejected claims, managers apply policy inconsistently, or auditors ask why a payment was approved.

Common subsistence claim scenarios

The rules are easier to apply when your policy deals with real examples.

Common subsistence mistakes finance teams should avoid

1. Treating benchmark rates as automatic allowances

HMRC rates are maximum tax, and National Insurance-free amounts where qualifying conditions are met.

They are not automatic daily allowances for anyone away from their desk.

2. Paying claims for ordinary commuting

Travel between home and a permanent workplace is usually ordinary commuting.

That means associated meal costs will often fall outside the tax-relieved business travel rules.

3. Not capturing the business reason

A receipt without context is weak evidence.

The finance team needs to know why the journey happened, where the employee went, and whether it was qualifying travel.

4. Reimbursing the same meal twice

If a meal is included in a hotel rate, event ticket, training course, or travel fare, the employee should not normally receive a separate benchmark meal payment for the same meal.

HMRC states that an employee can only be reimbursed for a meal once.

5. Leaving managers to interpret the rules differently

When one manager approves every claim, and another rejects similar expense claims, employees lose trust in the process.

Clear travel and expense policy rules help finance reduce back-and-forth.

What should your subsistence policy include?

A good subsistence policy should be short enough for employees to follow, but specific enough for managers to apply consistently.

Include:

• Which journeys qualify

• Which journeys do not qualify

• The HMRC benchmark rates your company uses

• Whether your company pays the full HMRC maximum or a lower internal rate

• What evidence employees need to provide

• When receipts are required

• How to handle meals included in hotel stays, events or tickets

• Approval routes

• Deadlines for submitting claims

• What happens if a claim breaches the policy

A simple policy line could be:

"Subsistence claims are only payable for qualifying business travel. Employees must provide the journey date, destination, business reason, duration, and any receipts or evidence required by the company policy. Claims for ordinary commuting, private travel, or meals already provided will not be reimbursed."

UK subsistence rates vs overseas subsistence rates

The UK benchmark rates apply to qualifying business travel within the UK.

For overseas travel, HMRC publishes separate country and city-specific scale rates for meals, accommodation, and related travel costs.

Employers can use these overseas rates, apply for a bespoke rate, or reimburse actual vouched expenses.

If a destination is not listed, HMRC says employers can use the closest city shown for that country, or the closest listed city geographically if the country is not shown.

Selected HMRC overseas subsistence rates

The table below gives selected examples from HMRC’s overseas scale rate list.

Last checked: May 2026. Rates can change, so check HMRC’s official overseas scale rate table before approving or reimbursing international claims.

How ExpenseIn helps finance teams manage travel and subsistence claims

Subsistence claims are small on their own, but messy at scale.

Finance teams need to know whether the journey qualified, whether the meal was eligible, whether the right evidence was provided, and whether the claim followed company policy.

When that information sits across receipts, emails, spreadsheets, and manager comments, simple claims can take longer than they should.

An expense software, like ExpenseIn, helps bring that process into one place.

Employees can submit claims on the go, capture receipts, record mileage, and send expenses for approval.

Managers can review claim details, receipts, and policy flags before approving.

Finance teams get clearer visibility of spend, reporting data and approval records.

For travel and subsistence claims, ExpenseIn can help you:

• Capture expenses on the go with a business expense app

• Reduce lost receipts with receipt scanning software

• Apply claim rules using automated expense policies

• Send claims through advanced approval workflows

• Track spend with real-time expense reporting

• Record business journeys with mileage recording software

• Connect expense data through accounting integrations

FAQs: HMRC subsistence rates

Book a free demo of ExpenseIn today to see how ExpenseIn can help streamline your travel and subsistence expense processes.