Meal allowance: Exempt amount on card rises to €10.20
13 de December, 2024
The approval of the State Budget for 2025 brings with it important changes for companies and workers, including an increase in the exemption from the meal allowance when it is granted through a social voucher (meal card).
Find out with us what’s going to change!
Tax-free amount over €10.20 in card
After being increased to €8.32/day in November 2022, and to €9.60/day in April 2023, the maximum amount of the meal allowance exempt from taxation on cards has risen again, this time to €10.20/day.
However, this change has a significant difference to the previous ones: it only applies when the meal allowance is paid by card. The maximum amount exempt from taxation will remain at €6.00/day if the allowance is paid in cash, together with the salary.
In practice, the amount exempt from tax on meal cards used to be 60% more than the legal limit for public workers and, from now on, it will be 70% more. As such, the amounts to be considered are now as follows:
- Cash payment: maximum exempt amount of €6.00/day;
- Payment by meal card: maximum exempt amount of €10.20/day.
This change allows companies to maximize their employees’ purchasing power in food expenses without increasing their tax burden. The allocation of a daily amount of up to €10.20 in meal cards has the following tax benefits:
- Total exemption from TSU and IRS for the employee;
- Total TSU exemption for companies.
If the meal allowance is paid in cash, these tax benefits continue to apply up to a maximum daily amount of €6.00.
This measure can be a valuable tool for employers to be able to support their employees at a time when the cost of living and the price of food continue to have a very significant impact on family budgets.
Read also: Meal allowance: Everything you need to know