Tax risk: 🔥 | Deductibility: 39% | Companies only
A tax-efficient benefit
A meal voucher (MV) 💳 can be granted for each working day, to your employees or to yourself (as a director). It is capped at €8 per voucher, of which €1.09 is covered privately (deducted from the employee's/director's net pay) and €6.91 is covered by the company (of which €2 is deductible). In this case, €3.09 (€2 + €1.09) per voucher is deductible out of the €8 — hence the 39%.
From 2026 onwards, the maximum amount of the meal voucher increases to €10:
Still €1.09 covered by the employee
€4 deductible for the company (so €5.09 including the employee's share)
Deductibility: 50.90% (€5.09 / €10)
How much can I save each year with meal vouchers?
Impact on the director: €1,520 in purchasing power
If your company grants you €1,760 in vouchers per year (the maximum: 220 vouchers), you receive €1,520 in net purchasing power (employer's share of €6.91 x 220).
If the same amount were paid as regular salary, it would be subject to social security contributions (20.5%) and PIT (50%). You would be left with only €728 net.
The difference of €792 is not insignificant!
Impact on the company: less deductible than salary
At company level, the corporate income tax saved through the expense differs between meal vouchers and salary:
Meal vouchers: (€2 + €1.09) x 220 = €679.80 deductible, so €170
Salary: €1,760 deductible, so €440
The (unfavourable) difference for the company is therefore €270 (€440 - €170).
Overall impact: €522 saved per year
Taking into account the impact on both the director and the company, grant yourself the maximum number of meal vouchers and save €522 (€792 - €270). Bear in mind that you also need to factor in the administrative fees charged by your meal voucher provider.
How do you go about it? Contact our partner Monizze and enjoy the best market rate negotiated for our clients. With an intuitive digital platform, you can simplify the management of your meal vouchers, including through an automatic monthly ordering system.
💡 Highly attractive from a tax perspective, meal vouchers are exempt from social security contributions and personal income tax. You save around €522 every year!