Business travel expenses: which receipts you need and which you do not
Business travel receipts explained: you need originals for train, flight, hotel, taxi and client meals, while flat rates often cover small expenses and mileage. The overview.
In short: For business travel expenses you need a receipt for everything that is reimbursed at actual cost: train and flight tickets, hotel, taxi, parking, client meals. You do not need a receipt where your expense policy uses flat rates, such as small expenses up to CHF 50 per occasion or mileage in a private car. Photograph every receipt immediately, because a lost receipt is the most common reason expenses get rejected.
A two-day business trip easily produces ten to fifteen receipts: train ticket, tram, coffee at the station, lunch, hotel, dinner with the client, taxi, car park. Some of them you absolutely need, some not at all, and for some the answer depends on your company's expense policy.
This article sorts business travel receipts into three groups: what you always need, what you do not need, and what a receipt must show to be accepted. The basis is the Swiss model expense policy (Musterspesenreglement) published by the Swiss Tax Conference, which most approved company policies follow. Germany and Austria apply similar principles with their own flat rates.
Which receipts do you always need on a business trip?
You need an original receipt for every expense that is reimbursed at actual cost. Without a receipt there is no reimbursement for actual expenses, and for tax purposes the amount quickly counts as salary instead.
- Transport: train and flight tickets, rental car invoices, taxi and public transport receipts. For online tickets, the PDF confirmation with amount and date is enough.
- Accommodation: the hotel invoice, issued to you or the company, itemising the room, breakfast and any extras.
- Meals with guests: the restaurant receipt plus a note with the names of the participants and the occasion. Without that, it is a private dinner.
- Incidentals: parking, tolls, baggage fees, conference and trade fair admissions, professional literature bought on the spot.
- Purchases for the business: material you buy on the road for the job, such as an adapter for the presentation (CHF 29.90).
An example: two days visiting a client in Bern. Return train Zurich to Bern CHF 104.00, hotel CHF 165.00, dinner with two clients CHF 187.50, tram CHF 9.20, car park at the home station CHF 28.00. You need a receipt for all five items, CHF 493.70 in total. Only the solo lunch on day one might run through a flat rate, depending on the policy.
Which receipts do you not need?
You do not need a receipt for expenses your policy covers with a flat rate. The flat rate replaces the proof, but you also get no more than the flat rate, even if you spent more.
- Small expenses: the Swiss model policy allows small expenses up to CHF 50 per occasion to be paid as a flat rate, provided the company policy includes this and has been approved by the canton. Typical cases are lunch away from the office or tips.
- Mileage: if you drive your private car, a flat rate per kilometre is usually paid. You do not need fuel receipts for that, but a trip log with date, route and purpose.
- Representation allowances for managers with an approved flat rate: a monthly amount covers small expenses and no receipts are required.
- Services already paid for: with a general season ticket (GA) or a company car, the journey creates no expense and therefore no need for a receipt.
- Terminal slips: the card terminal slip is not an expense receipt. It only shows that money moved, not what for. Do not throw it away, but do not count it as proof either.
Beware of doubling up: anyone who receives a flat rate and also submits receipts for the same purpose is claiming twice. This shows up in social security audits and tax inspections. How expense policies for sole proprietorships and GmbHs are structured is covered in Expense claims for Swiss sole proprietors and GmbHs.
What must a travel expense receipt show?
A travel expense receipt must make clear who bought what, when, from whom and for how much. If the business wants to reclaim input VAT, further details are required.
Minimum details on every receipt:
- Name and location of the supplier
- Date of the service
- Type of service (accommodation, meal, journey)
- Amount including VAT, and for VAT-registered businesses the tax rate and the supplier's UID (Swiss business identification number)
Under Art. 26 para. 3 of the Swiss VAT Act (MWSTG), the recipient's name and address can be omitted for amounts up to CHF 400, so a till receipt is sufficient. For higher amounts, such as a hotel invoice for CHF 620, the company should appear as the recipient on the invoice. The details on VAT compliance are in VAT-compliant receipts in Switzerland.
For client meals the most important detail does not come from the restaurant but from you: write directly on the receipt or in the app who was there and what it was about. "Dinner with A. Meier and B. Rossi, company XY, quote for warehouse project" is enough.
How do you capture receipts on the road without losing any?
Photograph every receipt the moment you get it, then put the paper in one fixed place. Most receipts are not lost through carelessness but because three different bags are involved between the taxi, the hotel and the station.
A proven routine for the trip:
- Receive the receipt, scan it with your phone straight away. With Belego this takes a few seconds: the app crops, straightens, saves a PDF and reads the amount, date and merchant. Capturing works offline on the train or abroad, and only the automatic reading needs a brief internet connection.
- Pick a category and type a note: occasion, participants, project.
- Put the paper receipt into an envelope in your bag that is used only for this trip.
- In the evening at the hotel, check briefly: are all of today's receipts captured? Is an amount missing because the receipt was blurred? Fill it in now.
- Back home, export the trip's date range as a ZIP and submit it with your expense form.
Tips for legible scans, especially of crumpled taxi receipts, are in How to photograph receipts so they stay readable. The complete workflow without spreadsheets is described in Expense reports with an app.
Overview: which expense needs which receipt?
| Expense | Receipt needed? | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Train, flight, rental car | yes, always | ticket or invoice with amount and date |
| Hotel | yes, always | itemised invoice, company as recipient for higher amounts |
| Client meal | yes, always | restaurant receipt plus names and occasion |
| Solo lunch | depends on policy | flat rate or receipt, never both |
| Private car | no, trip log | date, route, kilometres, purpose |
| Taxi, parking, tolls | yes | receipt with date and amount, handwritten by the driver if necessary |
What applies to business trips abroad?
Abroad, the same receipt rules apply, plus currency and foreign VAT. Record every receipt in its original currency and convert only when settling the report.
Three things differ from domestic trips:
- Currency: note the exchange rate or attach the credit card statement. Belego records receipts in multiple currencies, while the conversion remains part of the settlement.
- Foreign VAT: the German or Austrian VAT on a hotel invoice cannot be deducted as input tax in the Swiss VAT return. For larger amounts there are refund procedures in the respective country, which usually only pay off from several hundred francs upwards.
- Flat rates: Germany and Austria have their own meal allowances for business trips, staggered by the length of absence. If you travel for a German employer, you claim these rates and need no receipts for meals.
If a receipt does get lost despite all precautions, not everything is lost. What counts as a replacement and when a self-made receipt is possible is explained in Lost a receipt? What to do.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a receipt for a train ticket bought in an app?
Yes, but not on paper. The confirmation from the SBB app or the email with amount, route and date counts as a receipt. Save it as a PDF or screenshot alongside the trip's other expenses. With season tickets such as the GA, the individual journey creates no expense and you need no receipt.
Can I claim tips as travel expenses?
Tips are usually not printed on the receipt. Many expense policies allow a customary tip as part of meal expenses, either included in the flat rate or added by hand on the receipt. Write the amount directly on the receipt before you photograph it, and keep to what is customary locally.
What happens if I submit expenses without receipts?
Actual expenses without receipts are generally not reimbursed or are treated as salary, which triggers social security contributions and tax. For small amounts some companies accept a self-made receipt with date, amount and purpose. This is an exception for individual cases, not an alternative to collecting receipts.
Does the hotel invoice have to be in the company's name?
For amounts up to CHF 400, the Swiss VAT Act accepts a receipt without the recipient's name. Above that, the company should be named as the invoice recipient so the input tax deduction is secure. Give the company address at check-in and the hotel will print it on the invoice. If the invoice is only in your name, it is still usable as an expense receipt.