A train ticket for a client meeting, a hotel night, a lunch during a trade fair: the employee pays, then asks to be paid back. Reimbursing an expense report (“note de frais”) looks simple, but it follows precise rules, because it escapes social contributions only under conditions.
This guide covers the rules published by Urssaf: the two ways to reimburse, the receipts to keep, the 2026 limits for meals and travel, how mileage allowances are calculated, a complete example and the five-step method.
Key points:
- Expense reports are reimbursed in two ways: at real cost, on receipts, or through a flat-rate allowance.
- At real cost, the reimbursement is exempt from contributions if the expense is required by the job and backed by receipts, with no ceiling.
- A flat-rate allowance at or below the yearly limits needs no receipt, but its professional nature must be shown. Above them, the excess is only exempt with receipts.
- In 2026, the exempt meal allowance ranges from €7.50 at the workplace to €21.40 at a restaurant during a business trip.
What is an expense report?
An expense report is the document in which an employee lists the business expenses they paid upfront in order to be reimbursed. Urssaf defines these professional expenses as costs incurred by the employee for the needs of their work, which the employer then reimburses on receipts or as a flat-rate allowance.
The stakes go beyond bookkeeping. When reimbursed by the rules, professional expenses are excluded from the base used to calculate social security contributions and CSG-CRDS. When poorly justified, they can be reclassified as extra salary. The expense report therefore serves as proof, for the company and for the employee.
Real-cost reimbursement or flat-rate allowance
| Criterion | Real-cost reimbursement | Flat-rate allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | The amount actually spent | An amount set in advance |
| Receipts | Required, with proof that the expense was required by the job | None below the yearly limits, but the professional nature must be shown |
| Exemption limit | None | Limits updated every year and published by Urssaf |
| Above the limits | Not applicable | The excess is only exempt with receipts |
Real cost suits one-off and variable expenses, such as a train ticket or a hotel night. A flat rate simplifies recurring expenses, such as meals on business trips. Beware of exceeding the limits: if the company cannot show that the situation qualifies for the flat rate, the allowance becomes extra pay, subject to contributions from the first euro.
The case of company managers
Flat-rate allowances do not apply to managers covered by the social regime for the self-employed. According to Urssaf, the same goes for minority or equal managers of SARL and SELARL companies, chairmen and chief executives of public limited companies (SA), and presidents and managers of SAS companies. For them, professional expenses are assessed at their real value, so always on receipts.
The receipts to keep
A real-cost expense report relies entirely on its receipts: invoice, till receipt, ticket or voucher. Urssaf also requires proof that the employee had to incur the expense for their work. An expense report without receipts therefore cannot be reimbursed at real cost free of contributions. For each expense, the report states at least:
Remember: at real cost, no receipt means no reimbursement exempt from contributions. With a flat rate, receipts are only needed for the part above the yearly limits, provided the professional nature is shown.
2026 limits for meals and travel
For flat rates, Urssaf publishes the maximum exempt amounts every year. Here are the main ones for 2026.
| Situation | Maximum exempt amount in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Meal taken at the workplace out of necessity | €7.50 per meal |
| Restaurant meal during a business trip | €21.40 per meal |
| Meal outside a restaurant during a business trip | €10.40 per meal |
| Long business trip in mainland France, lodging and breakfast, Paris and 92, 93, 94 (first 3 months) | €76.60 per day |
| Long business trip in mainland France, lodging and breakfast, other départements (first 3 months) | €56.80 per day |
| Use of the employee’s own computer equipment | €55.20 per month |
These amounts change every year, and other scales exist, notably for short trips, remote work and relocation. Before setting a flat rate in your reimbursement policy, check the year’s figures on urssaf.fr.
For long business trips, the amounts fall as the assignment goes on: from the fourth to the twenty-fourth month, the meal drops to €18.20, and lodging to €65.10 in Paris and the neighbouring départements, €48.30 elsewhere. Construction, public works, temporary work, sheet metal, boilermaking and industrial piping companies, whose employees usually travel to outside sites, have a short-trip scale based on the round-trip distance, from €3.00 per day between 5 and 10 km to €60.60 between 190 and 200 km. In case of relocation, temporary accommodation is exempt up to €85.10 per day for 9 months at most, and moving into the new home up to €1,705.70, increased by €142.20 per dependent child up to three children.
Mileage expense report: the calculation
When an employee uses their own vehicle for business trips, the employer can reimburse mileage allowances using the tax authority’s scale. A mileage expense report then relies on three elements: the vehicle’s tax horsepower, the distance driven over the year and the scale that applies to that mileage band.
Urssaf gives this example: an employee drove 5,800 km during the year with a 5-horsepower vehicle. For the 5,001 to 20,000 km band, the scale gives (5,800 × 0.357) + 1,395, or €3,465.60. This amount is exempt from contributions if the employer can provide the vehicle registration certificate, a record of the kilometres driven each day and proof that the business trips took place.
Parking costs follow a similar rule. When the employee uses their own vehicle to reach the workplace because of time or location constraints, not for convenience, the employer can reimburse them on the basis of the cheapest rate, on presentation of receipts. For remote work, Urssaf distinguishes three categories of costs: the private space used for work, its fitting out, and equipment, connection and supplies.
Expense report example
Here is an example expense report for a fictional sales rep, reimbursed at real cost after a two-day visit to a client in Lyon.
| Date | Nature and reason | Amount | Receipt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 March | Return train Paris-Lyon, client meeting | €98.00 | E-ticket |
| 12 March | Hotel in Lyon, one night | €112.00 | Hotel invoice |
| 12 March | Lunch with the client | €64.00 | Restaurant bill |
| 13 March | Taxi station to client | €23.50 | Taxi receipt |
| 13 March | Station car park | €12.00 | Parking ticket |
| Total | Real-cost reimbursement | €309.50 | 5 receipts attached |
Each line carries a date, a nature, a reason and an amount that matches the receipt exactly. This expense report template can be reused as it is in a spreadsheet: one column per piece of information, one line per expense, a total at the bottom. If the company reimburses meals at a flat rate, the lunch line disappears from the report and the allowance is paid separately.
How to file an expense report in 5 steps
To file an expense report that is accepted the first time, the simplest approach is to follow the same order on every trip.
Photograph or keep the receipt when you pay, whether it is an invoice, a ticket or a till receipt. Without a receipt, the expense cannot be reimbursed at real cost free of contributions.
For each expense, state the date, the place, the nature and the business reason: the client, the assignment or the event concerned.
Depending on company policy, some expenses are reimbursed at real cost and others at a flat rate. Do not mix the two on the same line.
Add up the real-cost amounts, check they match the receipts exactly and attach each document to the report, in the order of the lines.
The manager or employer checks the report, then the company reimburses the employee. The reimbursement and receipts are then filed in the books.
In short: one receipt per expense, one business reason per line and a clear split between real cost and flat rate. The rest is organisation, which digital tools make simpler.
Managing expense reports: bookkeeping and software
Recording an expense report follows a simple principle: the reimbursement is booked as a company expense, backed by the receipts. Which accounts to use depends on your chart of accounts and your accountant. What matters is that every amount reimbursed matches a receipt and an expense report line.
Managing expense reports on paper or in a spreadsheet works for a few expenses a month. Beyond that, expense report software reads photographed receipts, applies the flat-rate limits and exports the data to the books. Another approach is to reduce the advances themselves, by giving team members a company payment card. Whatever the tool, the rule stays the same: every reimbursement must be traceable to an expense, a business reason and a receipt.
Vivid: fewer advances with team cards
With Vivid Business, team members can pay business expenses with a Visa debit business card instead of their personal card. The expense is then paid directly by the company, with no advance by the employee to reimburse later.
Expenses thus reach the company account with their receipt, which reduces the number of expense reports to process. For expenses that an employee still pays upfront, such as a motorway toll paid in cash, the expense report remains just as useful. Vivid Business is an online business account offered by an electronic money institution.
Vivid in brief: Visa debit cards for every team member, limits per card and receipts attached to transactions. Fewer advances, so fewer expense reports to reimburse and check every month.
Cards for your whole team
With Vivid, every team member can pay with their own business card and attach the receipt to the transaction. The Free Start plan costs €0/month and you apply online.
Frequently asked questions
What is an expense report?
It is the document in which an employee lists the business expenses they paid upfront, with their receipts, to be reimbursed by the employer. It also serves as proof in an inspection, since expenses reimbursed by the rules are excluded from contributions.
Do you need receipts for an expense report?
Yes for a real-cost reimbursement: the employer must produce the receipts and prove that the expense was required by the job. For a flat-rate allowance below the yearly limits, no receipt is needed, but the professional nature must be shown.
What is the difference between real costs and a flat-rate allowance?
At real cost, the company reimburses the exact amount spent, on receipts and with no exemption ceiling. With a flat rate, it pays an amount set in advance, exempt within the limits published every year by Urssaf.
How much can be reimbursed for a meal in 2026?
With a flat rate, the exempt allowance is €7.50 for a meal taken at the workplace out of necessity. During a business trip, it is €21.40 at a restaurant and €10.40 outside a restaurant.
How are mileage allowances calculated?
With the tax authority’s scale, based on the vehicle’s horsepower and the yearly distance. For 5,800 km with a 5-horsepower vehicle, Urssaf calculates (5,800 × 0.357) + 1,395, or €3,465.60. The registration certificate and a record of kilometres driven must be available.
Can a company manager file an expense report?
Yes, but not at a flat rate. Flat-rate allowances do not apply to self-employed managers. Nor do they apply to minority or equal SARL managers, SA chairmen and SAS presidents. Their expenses are reimbursed at real value, on receipts.
Are expense reports subject to contributions?
No, if the rules are followed. Expenses reimbursed on receipts, or through an allowance within the limits, are excluded from the base for social security contributions and CSG-CRDS. An allowance whose situation is not justified is subject to contributions from the first euro.
This article is provided for general information and does not constitute legal, payroll or accounting advice. The rules and amounts cited are those published on urssaf.fr for 2026 at the time of writing, and the example expense report concerns a fictional employee. Payment services are provided by Vivid Money S.A., an electronic money institution authorised by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) in Luxembourg, whose French branch is supervised by the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR).
