Free simulator
Ajudas de custo (per diem) calculator
Tell us how the company pays and your departure and return times. You see what you receive, how much of it is exempt from IRS (personal income tax) and Segurança Social (Portuguese social security), and how much becomes taxable income.
Calculation
- Nights away
- 1
- Legal entitlement
- 125% of a day
- Tax-exempt limit for this trip
- €82.36
- To receive
- €50.00
- Exempt
- €50.00
- Taxable (income tax and SS)
- €0.00
Daily exempt limit in 2026: €65.89 in Portugal and €148.91 abroad (Decreto-Lei n.º 1/2025).
A 30-minute demo with your data imported live.
How the exempt part is calculated
The law doesn't set what the company pays. It sets how much is exempt. The private sector uses the highest amount set for the civil service as its limit: €65.89 a day in Portugal and €148.91 abroad. Each trip earns a percentage of that limit, depending on the times:
| Same-day trip that covers lunch (1 pm to 2 pm) | 25% |
| Same-day trip that covers dinner (8 pm to 9 pm) | 25% |
| Day of departure: up to 1 pm | 100% |
| Day of departure: 1 pm to 9 pm | 75% |
| Day of departure: after 9 pm | 50% |
| Day of arrival: up to 1 pm | 0% |
| Day of arrival: 1 pm to 8 pm | 25% |
| Day of arrival: after 8 pm | 50% |
| Days in between | 100% |
Abroad, every day counts at 100%, whatever the time. Anything the company pays above the trip's limit is employment income: it pays IRS and Segurança Social on the payslip. Even the exempt part must be declared in the DMR-AT (monthly pay return to the tax authority), under code A22.
Frequently asked questions
Who is entitled to ajudas de custo?+
Anyone who travels on business more than 20 km from their workplace on a same-day trip, or more than 50 km when there's a night away. In Portugal, a trip can't run for more than 90 days in a row.
The company pays a fixed amount per night. Is it all exempt?+
Only up to the trip's limit, which depends on the times. A night away that starts at 10 pm and ends at 9 am the next day is worth 50% of a day, €32.95. If the company pays €50, €17.05 is taxable.
What do you need for the exemption to be accepted?+
An itinerary record (mapa de itinerário) with the beneficiary's name, the places, the reason and the date, the length of stay, the amount paid and the departure and return times. Without it, the company loses the tax deduction or the employee pays IRS.
What about kilometres in your own car?+
That's a separate allowance, with its own limit of €0.40 per km. Work it out in the how much do I get per km simulator.
Does the company pay anything else?+
Exempt ajudas de custo not billed to clients are subject to 5% tributação autónoma (a separate tax charge) in IRC, corporate income tax, or 15% if the company has a tax loss. That's a cost for the company, not the employee.
In Selfcare, this calculation does itself
Each employee records the trip with the times, the team leader approves and the company pays it with expenses, in a single transfer. The accountant gets the month's file and the itinerary records.