What is per diem (harcırah), and who is it paid to?

Per diem, called harcırah in Turkey, is a payment made to a person who goes from their usual place to another for duty, covering travel costs, a daily allowance and similar expenses. In everyday Turkish it is also called "yolluk" or "gündelik" (travel and daily allowance); the closest English term is "per diem". In Turkey, the harcırah paid to public employees is regulated by a separate law, while payments for business trips in the private sector are assessed under tax legislation.

This entry gives only the definition of the term. Kurumsal.pro does not calculate per diem, daily allowances, travel allowances or business advances; that feature does not exist in the product.

How does Law No. 6245 define harcırah?

Law No. 6245 on Harcırah (adopted 10 February 1954, Official Gazette 18 February 1954, no. 8637) defines harcırah as a payment covering one, several or all of travel costs, daily allowance, family costs and relocation costs payable under the Law (Article 3). Article 5 of the Law likewise states that harcırah consists of these four elements. The official text is in Turkish.

Article 1 of the Law limits its scope to public institutions: general, annexed (mülhak) and special budget administrations (excluding village budgets) and the capital-owning bodies attached to them, certain banks and enterprises established by special law, and the bodies in which they hold more than half of the capital. The Law has been amended many times; in practice the current consolidated text should always be used.

How is per diem treated in the private sector?

Private-sector companies are outside the scope of Law No. 6245; the tax treatment of payments to employees for business trips is assessed under Article 24 of Income Tax Law No. 193. The article exempts expense-reimbursing payments from income tax and distinguishes two cases:

• Payments made as harcırah or travel allowance by institutions subject to the Harcırah Law are exempt (clause 1).
• For bodies outside the scope of the Law, all actual travel costs paid to employees, and daily allowances given to cover meals and lodging, are exempt; but if the daily allowance exceeds what is paid to civil servants at the same salary grade, or exceeds the highest limit of the allowances paid by the State, the difference is taxed as wages (clause 2).

For this reason, public daily-allowance amounts are followed as a reference when a daily amount is set in the private sector. Because amounts change from period to period, no figures are given here; current values should be confirmed from official sources and from the company's accountant. The logic of calculating international per diem is covered in detail in the article on per diem calculation in international business travel.

What is the difference between per diem and a travel booking?

Per diem is a payment made to the employee, while a travel booking is the purchase of flights, hotels and other services. When the company buys the ticket and hotel directly, whether a daily allowance is also paid to the employee, and how much, depends on the company's own policy; its tax treatment is assessed separately under Article 24 of the Income Tax Law. The two processes run through different teams and documents: a booking is tracked by invoice, while per diem is tracked through payroll or an expense record.

Does Kurumsal.pro calculate per diem?

No. Kurumsal.pro does not calculate or pay per diem, daily allowance, travel allowance or business advances; there is no expense, receipt collection or cost center module either. The part the portal covers is the travel booking:

• The travel policy defines the nightly hotel limit (by city) and per-person and per-trip total amount limits; these limits constrain the price of the booking, not the payment made to the employee.
• The travel budget tracks periodic booking spend for a department, company or branch.
• Booking documents (e-ticket, voucher, invoice) and the sales statement help accounting record travel expenses.

The difference between travel management and expense management is covered in the article on travel and expense management, and the concept of a cost center is in the cost center entry.