Effective from 1 January 2022, only a limited amount (EUR 2.81, unless the meal allowance is increased) will be exempt from tax for all forms of performance of the employer’s obligation to provide meals to its employees (which also concerns non-monetary transactions, such as meal vouchers); the part provided as a contribution from the social fund will also be exempt.
The voluntarily part of the contribution (including a non-monetary form, such as meal vouchers) beyond the employer’s obligation will constitute the employee’s taxable income (and will also be subject to health insurance and social security contributions). This represents a major change in the taxation of meal vouchers, which have so far been fully exempt from tax for the employees.
Employers are not allowed to provide meal vouchers and financial contributions retrospectively. Thus, the employer should provide them no later than the last day of the current calendar month for the immediately following calendar month, so that they are available to the employee no later than the 1st day of the relevant month for which they are provided.
