Ons bereken die reiskoste volgens die kilometertarief en uitgawelimiet.

In the present tense, Afrikaans verbs usually do not change form according to the subject.

So you get:

• ek bereken = I calculate
• jy bereken = you calculate
• hy/sy bereken = he/she calculates
• ons bereken = we calculate

That is much simpler than English, where you have calculate but calculates.

If you want the past tense, Afrikaans usually uses het plus the past participle:

• Ons het die reiskoste bereken = We calculated the travel costs

Volgens means according to, based on, or in accordance with.

In this sentence, it introduces the standard or basis used for the calculation:

• volgens die kilometertarief en uitgawelimiet

So the idea is that the travel costs are calculated according to those rules or limits.

A useful thing to remember is that volgens is a preposition, so it is followed directly by a noun phrase:

• volgens die wet = according to the law
• volgens die kontrak = according to the contract

Because one die can cover both nouns when they are joined by en and treated as one combined phrase.

So:

• die kilometertarief en uitgawelimiet

means:

• the kilometre rate and expense limit

This works much like English the rate and limit.

You could also say:

• die kilometertarief en die uitgawelimiet

but repeating die is not necessary here.

Afrikaans normally writes compound nouns as a single word. This is very common and very important in the language.

These words break down like this:

• reis + koste → reiskoste = travel costs
• kilometer + tarief → kilometertarief = kilometre rate
• uitgawe + limiet → uitgawelimiet = expense limit

English often uses spaces where Afrikaans uses one long word. So this is something English speakers need to get used to.

A useful rule: in Afrikaans compounds, the last part is usually the main noun. So:

• kilometertarief is a kind of tarief
• uitgawelimiet is a kind of limiet
• reiskoste are a kind of koste

Reiskoste means travel costs or travel expenses.

The part koste is already associated with costs/expenses, so the whole compound refers to expenses connected with travel.

In practice, reiskoste often functions as a general category or collective idea, even though the English translation may look plural. That is why die reiskoste is perfectly normal.

So do not worry too much about trying to force it into an English-style singular/plural pattern. Just learn reiskoste as the standard word for travel expenses/costs.

No, this is normal main clause word order in Afrikaans:

• Ons = subject
• bereken = finite verb
• die reiskoste = object
• volgens die kilometertarief en uitgawelimiet = prepositional phrase

So the structure is:

Subject + Verb + Object + Extra information

A key Afrikaans rule is that in a main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position. This sentence follows that pattern normally.

The standard Afrikaans word is kilometer, spelled with -er at the end, not British English kilometre.

So the compound becomes:

• kilometer + tarief → kilometertarief

Afrikaans generally does not use a space in this kind of compound, and a hyphen is not needed here.

So kilometertarief is the normal standard spelling.

It sounds fairly formal or administrative. You might see it in:

• company policies
• travel reimbursement rules
• finance documents
• HR or accounting contexts

Words like bereken, kilometertarief, and especially uitgawelimiet have a professional or official feel.

That does not mean the sentence is unnatural—it is perfectly good Afrikaans—but it belongs more to business or institutional language than to casual conversation.

Sometimes, yes, in a natural English translation.

For example, English might say:

• We calculate the travel costs using the kilometre rate and expense limit.

But grammatically, volgens is closer to:

• according to
• based on
• in accordance with

So using may be a good idiomatic English translation in context, but it is not the most literal one.