Berlin.
A meal subsidy can replace the salary increase. Read here how this can be worthwhile for employees and employers in 2023.
Anyone who does not have an integrated cafeteria at their place of work often has to go out to eat. That can get really expensive. With a meal allowance the employer can relieve his employees and under the right conditions even tax-free. Employees can get meals for free or at a reduced price. Read here what employers and employees need to know about meal allowances.
Meal subsidy: You have to consider this
First things first: Employees don’t have one legal claim for a meal allowance. It is a voluntary additional benefit, but it can be more worthwhile for the employer than granting a salary increase. If the meal subsidy is not specified in the employment or collective agreement, an additional agreement must be made.
the supplementary agreement determines how often the employee can claim the meal subsidy per month and how high this subsidy is. If it stays at a maximum of 15 subsidies per month, the employer does not have to provide proof of whether the employee actually worked on the relevant days.
Grant: What can be funded?
alcohol, tobacco and others intoxicants cannot be subsidised. Just as few meals that are taken on a business trip, because they count as expenses. The food subsidy only applies to food that can be consumed directly.
The amount of a meal that can be subsidized is specified in the Social Security Fee Ordinance (SvEV) regulated. The amount of the benefit in kind is based on consumer prices. The benefits in kind were increased again in 2023.
How is the meal allowance calculated?
How much the meal subsidy can be is specified in the official benefits in kind set (SvEV).
They differ depending on the meal. the mandatory share must be taxed at 25 percent by the employer. It differs for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Breakfast: 2 euros
- Lunch and dinner: 3.80 euros
Added to this is the tax-free one Employer Subsidy from 3.10 euros. This results in a maximum total allowance per meal of:
- Breakfast: 5.10 euros
- Lunch and dinner: 6.90 euros
At 15 days a month lets so over 100 euros getting together.
Meal subsidy: who pays what?
The official one taxed at 25 percent mandatory share usually paid by the employer. If an employee gets a subsidized lunch fifteen times a month, the employer could contribute 57 euros. However, employees can also pay this compulsory portion themselves, so that the employer only pays the tax-free subsidy of EUR 3.10 to the employee.
Although this means less subsidy for the employee, the employer does not have to pay any taxes for it. For example, if employees pay more than the official value in kind of EUR 3.80 for lunch, the taxable official value in kind is reduced by the same amount. This means that the taxable portion is the value of the additional costs lowers.
On example: An employee receives a subsidy of 6.90 euros for lunch. If lunch costs more than 10.70 euros, the official benefit in kind of 3.80 euros and thus the entire meal subsidy is tax-free. At least for this day.
Subsidy: What digital solutions are there?
Since the calculation is quite complicated, different providers have digital Developed solutions for the meal subsidy bureaucracy.
Lunchit is such a digital help. Once a company has registered, employees can simply photograph and upload the receipt for their meal in the app. The employer then uploads the reimbursements from the employer portal to their own payroll system. Employees will be reimbursed for their meals with their next salary. Other providers are, for example, JobLunch, trebono or hrmony. (os)
Taxes: More on the topic
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