Namibia | Travel Allowance & Reimbursements

Namibia | Travel Allowance & Reimbursements

Travel Reimbursements

Travel reimbursement is provided to cover employees' travel expenses and is not subject to tax through payroll, as it simply compensates the employees for the costs they incurred during business travel. However, on assessment, the Commissioner will review the rate of reimbursement and determine if there is a tax liability. 

Travel Allowance
The total allowance is exempt from PAYE if granted on a bona fide basis, meaning it is not taxed if the employee travels exclusively for work purposes. However, it's important to note that commuting between home and work is not considered business travel, so the travel will never be entirely for business purposes. During assessment, the commissioner will require supporting documents, and based on those, the employee might have a tax liability.

It is recommended that employers deduct tax on the travel allowance to avoid tax liabilities during assessment. As in South Africa, Private and business travel is split allowing the tax to be applied to a portion of the travel allowance on a 20%/80% basis. In Namibia, it is left in the hands of the employer to decide what percentage must be subject to tax in the instance where an employee is granted a travel allowance.

Refer to Practice Note No.3 of 2001:

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In line with the above, in particular the highlighted part there is a Travel allowance taxable percentage component. This component enables users to specify a percentage of the travel allowance that should be subject to tax. The component can be added on the company level and thereafter added to the employee recurring payroll components with a specific percentage to be applied to travel allowances.