The 6 euro daily tax-free limit on meal vouchers is set for its first adjustment in 22 years. The government is considering raising it to 10 euros, following a joint request from labor and business groups, a move meant to offset part of the gap created by rising food prices while also giving companies more room to offer extra benefits to employees.
Meal vouchers are special coupons or vouchers that employers give staff to buy food and meals, redeemable at partner shops, restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets.
On a monthly basis, the benefit is currently worth 132 euros (22 working days times 6 euros). If the daily limit rises to 10 euros, the monthly value would climb to 220 euros.
For employees, the vouchers work as a tax-free bonus that boosts their pay. For businesses, they count as an expense that isn’t subject to social security contributions and is tax deductible. Today, one in four workers in Greece receives meal vouchers or a meal card, either regularly or occasionally, according to a recent survey by IME GSEVEE, with many recipients receiving the benefit for years running.
Under current rules, meal vouchers provided by employers get special tax treatment. Their value is exempt from income tax up to 6 euros per working day. If the daily value of the voucher exceeds 6 euros, it loses that special tax status and is instead treated as a benefit in kind, with the corresponding tax consequences. If the request from labor and business groups is approved and the daily limit rises to 10 euros, the tax-free amount workers could receive through meal vouchers would exceed 2,500 euros a year, giving them more breathing room in their disposable income.
Gift Vouchers and Coupons
Different rules apply to gift vouchers and shopping coupons that companies give employees. These are generally treated as benefits in kind and don’t get the same tax treatment as meal vouchers. When the total value of in-kind benefits an employee receives in a year doesn’t exceed 300 euros, no tax applies. Once that threshold is crossed, though, the rules on taxing benefits in kind kick in.
What Applies to VAT
The picture is different when it comes to VAT. Here, vouchers are split into single-purpose and multi-purpose categories, a distinction that determines when the tax obligation arises. For single-purpose vouchers, both the place of taxation and the applicable VAT rate are already known at the time of issue. Because of this, VAT is due when the voucher is issued or transferred.
A typical example is a voucher for clothing or footwear from a specific chain in Greece, as long as all the products it can be used for fall under the same VAT rate. With multi-purpose vouchers, by contrast, the place of taxation or VAT rate can’t be determined with certainty at the time of issue.
In these cases, the tax isn’t due when the voucher is issued but when it’s redeemed, as with a supermarket gift voucher that a consumer can use to buy various products taxed at different VAT rates. Since it’s not known at the time of issue which products the holder will ultimately choose, VAT is calculated only when the purchase is made.
