Facts of the case
For a long time, the flat-rate tax paid by the employer for each meal voucher was calculated on the basis of the full non-cash benefit value of a lunch meal, regardless of the actual meal amount. However, if an employee purchases a meal and the amount paid is higher than the value of the meal voucher, this "additional payment" reduces the non-cash benefit of the meal and less, or ideally no, flat-rate tax is payable by the employer.
Example
Fixed calculation of the flat-rate tax (e.g. with paper vouchers)
Mr. Müller pays € 9.67 for his lunch. He receives a reimbursement of € 7.67 (2026) from his employer. The employer taxes the non-cash benefit value (€ 4.57) at a flat rate of 25%.
Dynamic calculation of the flat-rate tax
As Mr. Müller has paid € 2.00 out of his "own pocket" towards the meal (€ 9.67 - € 7.67 = € 2.00), the taxable non-cash benefit is reduced by € 2.00.
This means that the employer no longer has to pay a flat-rate tax of € 4.57, but only € 2.57. Similarly, the tax-free portion increases from the previous € 3.10 to € 5.10.
This situation is illustrated in example purchase 4.
➡️ Nothing changes for the employee.
As they spend this amount anyway due to their purchasing behavior, they do not suffer any disadvantage. From the amount of € 12.24, the maximum effect is reached and the reimbursement is also completely tax-free for the employer.
Legal basis (detail)
The prerequisite for the recognition of the relevant official non-cash benefit value in accordance with the Social Security Remuneration Ordinance (SvEV) as wages (2026 = € 4.23 for a lunch) is, in particular, that the allowance does not exceed the official non-cash benefit value by more than € 3.10 in the case of daily meal allowances (digital meal vouchers). This means that the official non-cash benefit value must be applied if the employer's subsidy for a lunchtime meal amounts to a maximum of € 7.67 (€ 4.57 + € 3.10).
In the next step, the employee's additional payments must be taken into account on the income side. If the employee pays € 4.57 for a lunch meal (i.e. more than the value of the digital meal voucher), the non-cash benefit is reduced to € 0.
The non-cash benefit value of € 4.57 to be recognized as wages minus the employee's payment of € 4.57 results in a non-cash benefit of € 0.
Finally, the employee is not enriched in the amount of his additional payment. As a result, daily allowances do not constitute wages if the employer pays an allowance of up to € 7.67 and the employee makes an additional payment of at least the official value of the benefit in kind, which is currently € 4.57.
In this case, no flat-rate tax is payable. If the employee pays less than the value of the benefit in kind, the non-cash benefit and therefore the flat-rate tax is reduced proportionately.