In practice, home office days and meal vouchers regularly pose organizational challenges for employers and payroll accountants. In addition to labor law issues, e.g. home office / telework agreements, tax requirements must also be observed and documented.
Our time recording system offers an efficient way to reduce administrative effort, minimize sources of error and simplify cooperation between HR and payroll accounting. We show you how to do it.
1. HOME OFFICE: WHAT INFORMATION IS REQUIRED?
For employers, there is an obligation to document and provide identification for home office days as part of payroll accounting.
The calendar days on which employees carry out their professional activities exclusively in the home office must be recorded. The number of these home office days must be recorded in the payroll account and shown in the pay slip (L16) – regardless of whether a home office lump sum is granted. The teleworking allowance is 3 euros per day for a maximum of 100 days (= max. 300 euros per year). It is important to note that this lump sum is only due if the entire professional activity was carried out exclusively in the home office or at the designated place on that day.
Tip for HR & Payroll:
Record home office days daily or monthly. We recommend doing this directly in the time recording system, so you have complete, traceable documentation.
With Coredat’s time recording , this can then be transferred directly to the payroll system – ideal for the L16.
2. MEAL VOUCHERS: TAX BENEFITS – BUT HOW TO TAKE THEM INTO ACCOUNT?
Meal vouchers are tax-advantaged in Austria if certain conditions are met. Since 2022, this tax exemption has also applied to meals consumed in the home office, provided that they are prepared or delivered by a catering business or delivery service.
The most important key points:
- Meal vouchers worth up to 8 euros per working day are tax-free if the vouchers can only be redeemed for the consumption of meals prepared or delivered by a restaurant or delivery service.
- If the vouchers can also be used to buy groceries, these are up to an amount up to max. 2 Euro per working day tax-free.
- The benefit applies regardless of whether the meal is consumed in the office or in the home office.
- The prerequisite is that they are earmarked meal vouchers ; a cash redemption is not tax-exempt.
Tip for People Partners / HR Business Partners:
Tax-exempt benefits in kind must also be correctly taken into account in payroll accounting – our recommendation is therefore to systematically record these items with the help of time recording and then transfer them.
With Coredat time recording , this is done by means of allowances:
3. WHY TIME TRACKING IS A REAL ADDED VALUE HERE
If you record home office/teleworking days and meal vouchers in separate systems or manually, you increase the administrative effort and the risk of errors. An integrated time recording system provides a remedy:
- Central registration: Home office days and meal vouchers granted are documented directly in the system.
- Automatic evaluations: Monthly and annual overviews are available at the touch of a button and meet the legal requirements.
- Direct interfaces: The processed data can be transferred directly to the payroll software – this simplifies the creation of the L16 payslip and reduces coordination between HR and payroll accounting.
- Auditability: Complete and traceable records support companies with internal controls and external audits (GPLP).
CONCLUSION
Companies in Austria are obliged to correctly document both home office/teleworking days and relevant benefits in kind such as meal vouchers and to take them into account in the context of payroll accounting . The number of home office days must be shown in the L16 pay slip. Using our time tracking tool not only makes daily recording easier, but also enables seamless data transfer to payroll accounting – a clear advantage for HR teams and managing directors who want to make processes efficient and legally compliant.
Would you like to know more about how Coredat’s time recording and payroll accounting systems work together optimally? We will be happy to advise you!
