Travel expenses under the 30% ruling – family visit

Question:

Hi, I have the 30% ruling. I come from Latin America as well as my wife and daughter. I will like to travel back home every year to visit family. Can this be tax deducted?

Answer:

Family visit is treated as an extra territorial expense. If the 30% ruling is granted, the 30% allowance is expected to cover the costs of the home leave too. So the employer can’t reimburse these expenses on top of the 30% allowance. Only if the employer decides to reimburse the real expenses instead of paying the standard 30% allowance because the real proven extra territorial expenses are higher than the 30% allowance, the employer can reimburse the actual costs of the home leave.

The law only gives the option to receive a tax free reimbursement from the employer, it is not possible to deduct the expenses in the tax return, not even if the employer doesn’t reimburse any extra territorial expense nor wants to apply for the 30% ruling.