Per Diem / Travel Allowance in Harvester Payroll

Harvester has a separate Per Diem / Travel Allowance field for payroll amounts that vary from one payroll period to another. WHERE DO I ENTER IT? Enter the amount during payroll processing for the employee. On the payment capture and Edit Payment pages, look for: Per Diem / Travel Allow. (PAYE Exempt) Because a Per Diem or travel allowance may change from month to month, it is entered as part of the employee's payroll payment and is not stored as a fixed amount on the employee master record. Use this field only for a Per Diem / travel / subsistence amount that you intend to treat using the PAYE-exempt Per Diem field in Harvester. WHERE DOES IT SHOW? When a Per Diem amount is entered, it is shown separately on the employee payslip rather than being mixed into Lunch, Transport or Other Addition. It is included on the Harvester payslip formats where the normal payroll additions are displayed, including the Standard payslip, Large payslip, No-Logo payslip and Individual/Single payslip, together with their PDF or Excel export versions where available. It is also shown on the PDF E-payslip sent by email. IF I NEED DAYS x RATE INSTEAD The built-in Per Diem field is for entering the actual Kwacha amount for that payroll period. If you instead need an allowance calculated from a number of travel days multiplied by an individual or company rate, you can still use a Custom Extra of the Itemised type. Search Help for Travel Allowance or Itemised Extras for that method. PAYE AND NAPSA TREATMENT WHY IS THIS FIELD PAYE EXEMPT? The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) explains in its PAYE guidance that genuine Per Diem or Subsistence Allowances, including lunch allowances paid while an employee is working out of the office, are not subject to PAYE because they are not regarded as emoluments. Emoluments arise from rendering a service or holding office, whereas a genuine per diem or subsistence allowance is paid because the employee is working away from home or the normal work location. IMPORTANT This does not mean that every payment simply labelled "Per Diem" is automatically PAYE exempt. The Harvester Per Diem / Travel Allowance field should be used for a genuine travel, subsistence or per diem payment connected with the employee working away from the normal workplace or home. A normal recurring cash allowance or other remuneration may have a different PAYE treatment. WHAT ABOUT NAPSA? PAYE and NAPSA are separate statutory deductions. A payment being exempt from PAYE does not automatically make it exempt from NAPSA. NAPSA guidance states that gross earnings for contribution purposes include allowances. Harvester therefore includes the Per Diem / Travel Allowance in NAPSA earnings where the employee is liable for NAPSA, subject to the normal statutory contribution ceiling. OFFICIAL REFERENCES ZRA Practice Note No. 1 of 2025 - see the section "Per Diem or Travel Allowances": https://www.zra.org.zm/download/practice-note-no-1-of-2025/ ZRA Employer's Guide to PAYE: https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Employers-Guide.pdf Latest ZRA Practice Note for 2026: https://www.zra.org.zm/download/practice-note-no-1-of-2026/ NAPSA guidance on gross earnings and allowances: https://www.napsa.co.zm/important-facts/ If there is uncertainty about whether a particular allowance qualifies as genuine Per Diem or Subsistence Allowance, the employer should obtain confirmation from ZRA.