Increased meal allowance: Tax-free amount increases to €9.60 on card

19 de April, 2023

After the government announced an interim increase in the meal allowance for the public sector on March 24th, this measure has now come into force.

This change brings with it new features with regard to amounts exempt from taxation in cash and meal cards. Find out what will change!

Meal allowance rises to €6/day for public sector workers

Ordinance no. 107-A/2023 of April 18th updates the value of the meal allowance paid to public sector workers with retroactive effect from January 1st, 2023. This amount increases from €5.20/day to €6.00/day.

This increase also raises the amount exempt from taxation, which continues to depend on the format in which the allowance is granted:

• If paid in cash, the fee is €6.00/day;
• If it is paid by social voucher or card, the exempt amount will be 9.60€/day (whereas until now it was 8.32€). This is an increase of €1.28/day.

This allows companies to give their employees more liquidity for food expenses without increasing their tax burden. By allocating up to €9.60/day in meal allowance cards, you can see:

• Total TSU exemption for the company;
• Total exemption from IRS and TSU for the employee.

This measure aims to maximize workers’ disposable income at a time when the rising cost of living – particularly in food – continues to have a strong impact on families’ budgets.

Note: in December 2024, the maximum amount exempt from card taxation will be €10.20/day.