Meal voucher

What is a meal voucher?

A meal voucher is an employee benefit that allows companies to organize subsidies for meals on working days. In practice, it can take the form of a meal coupon, a restaurant check, or a digital meal voucher and can be redeemed for a meal at designated acceptance points. The German Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) explicitly mentions paper meal vouchers as well as digital solutions such as rechargeable cash cards or apps.

Why do companies use this benefit?

Companies use meal vouchers because they offer a benefit that is closely tied to everyday life. Unlike occasional small gifts, this benefit is linked to a regularly recurring situation: the meal during the working day. As a result, the advantage is usually easy for employees to understand, without companies having to build their own infrastructure such as a cafeteria.

Added to this is practical flexibility. Under the BMF guidelines, meal vouchers can be redeemed not only in restaurants but also at certain acceptance points in grocery retail, provided that a meal is actually purchased. This makes the model a particularly obvious choice for companies with multiple locations, hybrid working arrangements, or no catering facilities of their own. This assessment is a practical inference drawn from the permitted redemption channels.

From an HR and compensation perspective, it is also relevant that there is a clear statutory and administrative framework for meals and non-cash benefits. At the same time, the specific treatment depends on how the benefit is set up within the company, for example on how it is handled in the payroll account, on the supporting documentation, and on the interaction with absences or business travel situations.

Benefits at a glance

In practice

Meal vouchers are a particularly obvious choice for small and medium-sized enterprises, for growing organizations without a cafeteria, and for distributed workforces. Because the BMF also takes digital meal vouchers and redemption at external acceptance points into account, the benefit is especially suitable where meals are not organized centrally within the company.

What to keep in mind

With meal vouchers, the specific design should always be considered in conjunction with payroll, tax classification, and organizational implementation. Relevant aspects include, among others, granting the voucher per working day, proof of actual use for meals, the handling of days of absence, and integration into existing compensation models. The specific implementation should therefore be reviewed together with tax advisors, payroll, and, where applicable, the benefit provider.

Sources & further information

• German Federal Ministry of Finance – Cafeteria meals and meal vouchers (payroll tax guidelines)
• German Federal Ministry of Finance – Non-cash benefit value for daily meal subsidies
• Gesetze im Internet – Section 8 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG)
• Gesetze im Internet – Section 40 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG)
• Gesetze im Internet – Section 2 of the German Social Security Remuneration Ordinance (SvEV)
• Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German pension insurance) – Non-cash benefits in the employer glossary