💼 Business Trips

Author

Peter Kraus

Published

August 12, 2025

Note

You need to submit a “Dienstreiseantrag” (see Section 3.2) for any kind of business trip, without exception. This is for insurance reasons!

Conferences

If there is a conference / workshop you would like to go to, please come and speak with Peter. In general, we will discuss your conference plans during your progress meetings.

Generally it is expected that you present a poster or give a talk during the conference. Please, plan well ahead, as travel costs may go up if you book short notice. First draft of your poster or talk should be discussed with Peter at least 2 weeks before the conference. Please use the templates!

Note

For conference talks, you are expected to have a practice talk in front of the whole FGKW. Schedule your practice talk no later than a week before your departure, so that you can incorporate changes!

After your conference, you should give a short summary during the FGKW Team Meeting. Prepare three slides with:

  • one slide with info about the conference,
  • one slide with a summary of what you presented,
  • one slide with something that caught your eye (poster or talk).

Project trips

If you are working on a project, you might be asked to travel to a project partner or to a project meeting. Please discuss and coordinate with Peter.

First draft of your talk should be discussed with Peter at least 1 week before the project meeting. Please use the templates!

You can mention your project trip on the FGKW Team Meeting. You don’t have to prepare slides, unless asked to by Peter.

Business Trip Workflow

graph LR;
    s1["Travel Plan"] --> s2["Dienstreiseantrag"] -.-> s3["Approval by Peter"] -.-> s4["Travel"] --> s5["Reisekostenabrechnung"] --> done["✅"];

Planning your trip

You should fill in a Dienstreiseantrag and get it approved by Peter for every business trip, for insurance purposes.
Conference Fees

Try to get the conference fee invoiced to your name with the address of:

TU Berlin,
Leitfähigkeit und Katalyse - BA3,
Hardenbergstr. 40,
10623 Berlin

That way, the TU can pay this invoice directly, without going through the reimbursement process. In addition to the invoice, Peter will need:

  • conference programme,
  • invitation, or confirmation of talk/poster.

Dienstreiseantrag: Application for official travel

Forms for your Dienstreiseantrag can be found online in English as well as in German.

  • Download the correct form:
  • Fill in sections I. - VI. as instructed:
    • Section I. Personal Details:
      • If you are from Germany you must include your Tax Identification Number (Steuer-ID)
      • If you are from abroad, leave the Tax Identification Number blank.
    • Section II. Anticipated costs:
      • This should be a reasonable estimate based on up-to-date hotel and travel prices.
      • If your conference fees are paid by TU Berlin directly, do not include them here.
    • Section III. Information on Travel:
      • The Duration must cover the whole Official business period
      • Please enclose conference program, invitation, or e-mail communication supporting your travel
    • Section IV: Modes of Transport
      • Use of a rental car or personal car can be only approved in exceptional circumstances. Speak to Peter.
    • Section V. Combining travel with vacation:
      • You cannot claim hotels for vacation days before/after the official business, unless necessary to be there on time (e.g. early morning start or international travel)
      • You must confirm that the travel is not more expensive due to your vacation (i.e. compare ticket prices)
    • Section VI. Reimbursement
      • Reimbursement is in full, unless agreed otherwise.
      • Peter will fill in the Kostenstelle / PSP-Element information
      • Fill in Advance payment details. Advance is 80% of the total costs in Section. II.
      • If you don’t want an advance, write “No advance required.” in the appropriate field.
      • Sign.
  • Give the documents to Peter. Make a copy of all documents for yourself.
  • Peter will fill in Section VI., approve the travel as appropriate, and forward it to Abt. II RK.

German tax ID

According to the regulations affecting TU Berlin, payments (including travel cost reimbursements and advances) can only be issued when the payee’s 11-digit German tax ID is provided. This also applies to short term business trips (research visits, seminars), but does not apply to foreign recipients. If you are living in Germany but have not yet been issued a German tax ID, you should apply for one, so that a payment can be issued:

  • Go to https://www.formulare-bfinv.de/ffw/
  • Enter 010250 (the number of the form) into the search bar on the top right.
  • Complete the form. This form is only available in German. Use the following info:
    • Name/Steuernummer des Arbeitgebers: Technische Universität Berlin, 29/029/61907
    • Anschrift des Arbeitgebers: Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623 Berlin, Deutschland
    • Telefonnummer für Rückfragen: +49 30 314 77803
  • Sign the form.
  • Send the completed, signed form and a copy of your passport/ID card to the tax office at poststelle@fa29.berlin.de
For business trips, use a pre-filled form:

Alternatively, you may use the pre-filled version of form 010250 where only your personal data needs to be entered. The form still needs to be signed and sent to the above email address together with a scan of your ID.

You should receive a tax ID from the Finanzamt in around a week.

Booking and Travel

Now you’re free to book your travel. For transport within Germany, you should be booking rail (or bus) travel, 2nd class. Seat reservation and flexi-tickets (especially on the return leg) are OK. For international transport, air travel is also acceptable.

Conference hotels are often quite expensive. Look on e.g. booking.com for cheaper options. Try to book with flexible cancellation.

Bookings via AirBnB:

Bookings via AirBnB in particular are often a little tricky to reimburse as AirBnB does not provide an invoice directly. Make sure you ask your hosts for an invoice at the time of booking or latest during your stay.

Have fun during your travel. Make sure you collect the originals of all relevant receipts:

  • transport tickets, taxi fees, poster print fees,
  • hotel invoices (in your name and address),
  • conference fees (in your name and address)
  • proof of attendance from the event organiser.

Reisekostenabrechnung: Reimbursement of travel costs

You will have to collect all original receipts and submit two forms with them to II RK. Be prepared for a long wait.

  • Download the Reisekostenabrechnung form. This form is unfortunately only available in German, but it’s pretty straightforward to fill in.
  • Download the Anlage zur Reisekostenabrechnung. The instructions are very specific:
    • You have to number each row or a pair of rows (e.g. for return train tickets)
    • You have to enter the actual cost of that item
    • You need to attach all original receipts, numbered in the same order
  • You have to attach the original of the Dienstreiseantrag if you didn’t get an advance. You have to attach a copy of the Dienstreiseantrag if the original has been sent to II RK.
  • You have to attach the proof of attendance
  • Keep a copy of all submitted documents.
  • Give a copy of the Reisekostenabrechnung form to Peter

Be patient. Reimbursement process can take up to a year.

Warning

Reimbursement via Reisekostenabrechnung is only possible for travel outside of Berlin / Brandenburg. Speak to Peter if you have travel costs within Berlin / Brandenburg.