- within Employment and HR topic(s)
- within Consumer Protection, Antitrust/Competition Law, Food, Drugs, Healthcare and Life Sciences topic(s)
Key insights
- The maximum employer contribution for meal vouchers will increase to €8.91
- This change applies only to the social security exemption threshold
- Some sectors may update their amounts, and employers can still raise voucher values individually
To support purchasing power, the federal government announced plans to gradually increase the maximum amount for meal vouchers. This intention has now been confirmed by a Royal Decree dated 10 November, 2025, which amends Article 19bis of the Royal Decree of November 28, 1969 on employee social security.
From 1st January 2026, the employer's maximum contribution towards meal vouchers will increase from EUR 6.91 to EUR 8.91, while the employee's minimum contribution will remain at a minimum of EUR 1.09. In practice, the face value of meal vouchers could therefore rise from EUR 8 to EUR 10 per working day.
This Royal Decree applies solely to the social security exemption threshold. At this stage, no tax provisions have yet been adopted to align with the new maximum amount, although such an adjustment is expected soon.
Once this fiscal alignment is confirmed, it will be interesting to see which sectors choose to update their amounts. For those that do not, employers will still have the option to increase the value of meal vouchers at company level.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
