Terms of Use & Legal Basis for the Meal Allowance
The Hrmony meal allowance is granted in accordance with the following legal requirements and terms of use.
Quick overview
- ✅ Food and food-appropriate beverages only
- ✅ Actual working days only
- ✅ Only what you personally paid for
- ✅ Receipts from the current month only
- ✅ Receipts from Germany only
- ✅ Receipts issued in euros only
The rules in detail
🍽️ What is eligible for reimbursement?
- Eligible expenses are lunch and dinner meals that you personally paid for.
- Food counts as a meal if it is suitable for immediate consumption or intended for your meal break – including food-appropriate beverages consumed as part of a meal.
- Whether a meal qualifies as breakfast, lunch, or dinner is determined by the time the meal was eaten.
Note: Breakfast receipts are not eligible for reimbursement.
📅 Which days qualify?
- Receipts may only be submitted for days on which you actually worked.
- Not permitted: receipts from vacation days, sick days, or other absences.
- Only one meal allowance per working day is permitted – purchasing food in advance for other days is not allowed for legal reasons.
❌ What is not eligible?
The following items and situations are excluded:
- Non-food products (e.g. cleaning supplies, household goods)
- Alcohol and tobacco products
- Pet food and dietary supplements not suitable for immediate consumption
- Bottle deposits – neither at purchase nor at return
- Receipts from days with duplicate reimbursement (e.g. if a per diem allowance has already been claimed for that day)
🧾 What do I need to keep in mind when submitting?
- Each receipt may only be submitted once.
- Receipts must be submitted by the end of the month they were issued – receipts from previous months cannot be reimbursed.
- Receipts must originate from Germany and be issued in euros.
- Receipts from abroad are not eligible for reimbursement.
Legal basis
- BMF letter dated 18 January 2019 (2019/0040075)
- R 8.1 paragraph 7 no. 4 LStR (sub-items aa) to dd))