Birgit Ennemoser (birgit.ennemoser@auren.de), Head of HR Services

If an employer covers the cost of an employee’s meal during a business trip (e.g., a training course), this constitutes a taxable non-cash benefit for the employee. The same applies when an employee is provided with a meal by the employer or at the employer’s instruction in the context of maintaining a second household for professional reasons.

The valuation of the meal is based on the officially determined non-cash benefit values applicable at the time (Section 8 (2) sentence 8 in conjunction with sentence 6 of the German Income Tax Act – EStG).  For 2025, the values under the Non-Cash Benefit Ordinance are as follows:

• Breakfast: 2.30 €
• Lunch: 4.40 €
• Dinner: 4.40 €

If the employee makes a contribution toward the provided meal, this reduces the taxable benefit (but not below 0 €).

Important: When assessing the 60 € threshold, the employee’s contributions cannot be deducted (BMF letter dated 25 November 2020).

However However, a meal does not have to be classified as taxable wage income if the employee is entitled to deduct additional meal expenses under Section 9 (4a) sentences 1–7 EStG (“additional meal allowance”). This applies in the following cases:

• Single-day business trips without overnight stays, where the employee is away from home and their primary workplace for more than eight hours.
• Travel days (arrival and departure) for multi-day business trips with overnight stays.
• Intermediate days of a multi-day business trip with overnight stays, where the employee is away from home and their primary workplace for a full 24 hours.

In return for the exemption of the non-cash benefit from taxation, the employee’s meal allowance is reduced. The basis for the reduction is not the official non-cash benefit value, but rather the reduction applicable when an employee is provided with a meal during or in connection with a business trip. This means in detail:
For lunch and dinner, the meal allowance is reduced by 40 % of the full daily meal allowance applicable to the respective country. For breakfast the meal allowance is reduced by 20 % of the applicable full daily meal allowance. The reduction is applied to the full daily meal allowance, but not below 0 €. The reduction of the meal allowance therefore amounts to 11.20 € (28 € × 40 %) for lunch and dinner in Germany in 2025.

By default, meals must be recorded in payroll accounting as taxable wages subject to social security contributions. In this case, taxation is based on the employee’s individual income tax deduction characteristics. Social security contributions also apply.

An exception to this is lump-sum taxation instead of individual taxation and contribution assessment at 25 %, plus solidarity surcharge and, if applicable, church tax. The advantage: taxation is simplified, and social security contributions are eliminated (Section 1 (1) no. 3 SvEV).

In practice, lump-sum taxation is particularly used in two cases:

Case 1: Lump-sum taxation of meals for absences of less than 8 hours: The lump-sum payment is possible if the employee has eaten a meal during an external activity but cannot claim a per diem meal allowance due to insufficient absence.

Case 2: Lump-sum payment for meals after the three-month period

Employees can claim a lump sum for additional subsistence expenses as income-related expenses when working away from home. Individual proof of higher actual costs is not possible. For domestic travel, the deductible lump sum (Section 9 (4a) EStG) is as follows:

1. 14 € for each calendar day on which the employee is absent from their home and primary workplace for more than eight hours without an overnight stay;
2. 28 € for each calendar day on which the employee is absent from their home and primary workplace for a full 24 hours; and
3. 14 € for each arrival and departure day if the employee stays overnight outside their home on this day, the previous day, or the following day (the duration of absence is irrelevant).

For international travel, the country-specific per diem rates published by the German Ministry of Finance (BMF) apply. The per diem rates valid from 1 January 2025 can be found in the BMF letter dated 2 December 2024 or in our reference guide.

The deduction of meal allowances for additional meal expenses is limited to the first three months of work at the same location (Section 9 (4a) sentence 6 EStG). This three-month period only starts if the workplace is visited at least three days per week.

An interruption of work at the same location resets the three-month period if the interruption lasts at least four weeks (Section 9 (4a) sentence 7 EStG). The reason for the interruption does not matter (e.g., vacation, illness, training).

In practice, the standard lump-sum allowances often do not fully cover actual meal costs. Section 40 (2) sentence 1 no. 4 EStG allows for the employer to grant double the standard meal allowances with a lump-sum taxation of 25 % (plus solidarity surcharge and, if applicable, church tax).