It seems wonderful to work from abroad for a while, but what about the costs? What costs are involved if you want to go on a workstation? And just as important, who is going to pay those costs? That it costs money to do your work from another place will come as no surprise, but the fact that you may not have to pay for some or all of this out of your own pocket is something many people don’t know.
Who will pay for my workation?
Exactly how this works out is different for each person. First, it is determined by how you set up your workation, and second, by whether you are employed or working for yourself. In this blog, I cover both and tell you how you can keep your costs for yourself as low as possible.
How much does a workation cost?
Like a vacation, you can make your workation as crazy as you like. Generally, the farther away from home you go, the more expensive it gets. If only for the cost of any plane ticket. Also think carefully about when and how long you are going and what kind of accommodation you want to go to. If you want to calculate what this trip will cost you, consider the following:
– Your destination. A plane ticket in Europe is a lot cheaper than one to Bali, for example.
– Your accommodation. A fancy apartment to yourself is more expensive than a hostel or coliving. You can also go with someone and split the cost of your own accommodation.
– Define your budget. I can’t see into your wallet. Decide how much you want to spend on it and estimate the cost in advance.
What does a workation provide?
Working from a different place gives you a huge energy boost. A change of scenery always does a person good. Getting away from the grind, getting new stimuli and experiences. You can travel and see new things in combination with your work. I can tell you from my own experience that you experience much less stress in a different environment, it really happens by itself! And for the sales people among us, it also pays off in the literal sense, because your work continues so you can still bring in money.
By the way, what is also nice about the combination of work and travel, you don’t have to work ahead because of absence, or work extra hard afterwards to catch up. At least I myself always find that very annoying. You try so hard to hold on to your vacation feeling, but within 1 day you are up to your ears in work again and you feel the stress coming back.
Do I have to pay for everything myself?
Now it gets interesting. In fact, there are quite a few options that will make it cost you less money, both if you are employed or freelance. This may sound too good to be true, but it is not. It’s just that it is still relatively little used, which is why it is somewhat less well known. Below I explain to you exactly how it works, first for those who are salaried, then for freelancers. This concerns a temporary stay abroad of up to 3 months, as different rules apply to long-term stays.
Anyway, during the workation, only business expenses are tax deductible and must be logical expenses. What you spend in free time does not count in this. Whether it is deductible is different for each company and depends on your specific situation. Check out information at the IRS for this.
Financial opportunities for employees
Remote working has recently become more and more normal. Many companies have become very flexible in the workplace. So that can include working temporarily from abroad. You may still need to convince your boss of the many benefits, but hopefully remote working at your company is something they have no problem with. As workations become increasingly popular, employers are also becoming more open-minded about the financial side of it. Here are some interesting schemes to be sure to discuss with your boss:
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Your boss pays (in part)
If your employer attaches great importance to happiness at work, chances are good that there are possibilities for reimbursement of part of the costs. After all, it contributes to your job happiness and job satisfaction. Paying the whole bill does not seem very realistic to me, but partial reimbursement is possible. Check with your supervisor or HR to see what the possibilities are.
Forward-thinking companies see so much opportunity in workations that they cover all costs. You can read the same thing in Sam’s blog that I posted recently. His employer pays for his entire month in Barcelona for all employees who want it!
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Use your training budget
Everyone has a training budget, which serves for your personal development. Just last week I spoke to an employer who changed the rules of this so that it can also be used for remote work. Which is quite logical, because you definitely develop yourself when you travel. You can also make this concrete by setting goals that you will work on specifically, taking an online course on something that is in line with your development, formulating personal actions or reflection. So on to HR and seize your opportunity!
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Take advantage of the work expense scheme
Through the working expenses scheme (WKR), as an employer you can give untaxed allowances to your employees. You can also reimburse things that an employee can benefit from privately. Read more about the work-related costs scheme and its applicability here.
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Taking your team on a company trip
An employer may also choose to provide an entire workation for the team or a department. The costs are then largely for the employer, of course. At most, the employer can ask you to pay for part of it yourself, such as your plane ticket. Usually this is a maximum of €300. Whether a company lets an employee pay for something himself is the employer’s choice.
In addition, your employer may choose to get even more value out of the workation by giving the group an assignment. This could be to brainstorm about a specific project, challenge or opportunity. A different environment is pre-eminently the best place to think creatively and come up with great ideas and insights together.
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Discuss it with your employer
How nice would it be if you could forward the invoice for your workation to your employer? Maybe you haven’t thought about this at all, but hopefully above are enough handles to at least bring it up at work. Maybe there is much more possible than you know right now. Or does it prompt your boss to think and bring about positive change.
Remote working as a ZZP/entrepreneur
When you work for yourself, of course you try to keep your own costs as low as possible. But investing in yourself is very important. You are in control of your own development. During a workation you can not only do your daily work, but also work on your business. You can submit your workation (partly) as a business expense. It is an investment in your company. How exactly is different for each company, ask your tax advisor for advice.
A workation is a great opportunity to zoom out, or just work on a specific assignment or gain new insights. A different environment is the ideal place for that. You can do it alone, but also in a group. In a previous group workation, there were several entrepreneurs who went remote for exactly these reasons.
You meet other professionals, get to know new people, gain knowledge and at the same time you are networking.
Especially as a start-up entrepreneur, it is nice to do a trip like this with other people. You undoubtedly have moments when you want to think out loud about certain things or get stuck. How nice to do this during your workation with other professionals. I myself have very consciously chosen not to schedule workshops during my group workations to work on this, but let it happen naturally. Those good conversations happen anyway when you are in a house together. Then it is nice when there is less pressure, but spontaneous.
Cost for own account
Unfortunately peanut butter, there is also a possibility that you will have to pay for your workation yourself. But don’t fret, because this is the best investment you can make in yourself. Sure, the money is gone, but you get a lot in return, which is why you should think of it as an investment. You get to meet new people, be in a great place, have an incredibly cool experience and probably come back a few shades tanner. And for the wage slaves among us, at least it doesn’t cost you any vacation days! That alone was reason enough for me to do it.
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