Sachbezugswerte 2027: Essenszuschuss steigt auf 7,80 Euro

Canteen meals, meal vouchers, the digital lunch card or the staff flat for the seasonal cook: wherever you provide your team with meals or accommodation, the official values for benefits in kind (Sachbezugswerte) decide wage tax and social security. For 2027, the draft of the Seventeenth Ordinance Amending the Social Security Remuneration Ordinance (Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung, Bundesrat Drucksache 503/26) is on the table. Lunch rises to 4.70 euros, and the tax-privileged meal allowance with it to up to 7.80 euros per working day. Here you get all the new values, the logic behind the calculation and a checklist for the January payroll run.

What Sachbezugswerte are and where they come from

If you give your employees benefits in kind on top of their salary, their value is in principle part of their wages. For meals and accommodation you do not have to work out this value yourself: it is fixed in § 2 of the Social Security Remuneration Ordinance (SvEV). Under § 8 (2) sentence 6 EStG, the same values also apply for wage tax. That is convenient, because tax and social security run in step.

Each year the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs adjusts the values to consumer prices under § 17 (1) sentence 1 no. 4 SGB IV, with the consent of the Bundesrat. The decisive period for 2027 is the development from July 2025 to June 2026. According to the explanatory memorandum to the ordinance, prices for restaurant and accommodation services rose by 3.1 percent in this period, and prices for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels by 1.3 percent.

Important on the status: The federal government sent the ordinance to the Bundesrat on 1 September 2026. The deliberation is on the agenda of the plenary session on 16 October 2026. The values are only final once consent has been given. In previous years deviations have practically never occurred, but until then you should treat the figures as provisional. The ordinance is due to come into force on 1 January 2027.

The 2027 Sachbezugswerte for meals

The monthly value for full board rises from 345 to 355 euros. It is made up of the individual values for the three meals:

• Breakfast: 73 euros per month (2026: 71 euros), which is 2.43 euros per calendar day (2026: 2.37 euros).
• Lunch: 141 euros per month (2026: 137 euros), so 4.70 euros per calendar day (2026: 4.57 euros).
• Dinner: likewise 141 euros per month or 4.70 euros per calendar day.
• Full board: 355 euros per month, 11.83 euros per calendar day.

The daily values are derived by dividing the monthly value by 30 (§ 2 (6) SvEV). They apply whenever meals are not provided for a full month, and above all for individual meals on working days.

How the non-cash benefit is calculated

If you provide a meal free of charge, the full Sachbezugswert has to be recorded as wages. If the employee pays something towards it, only the difference to the Sachbezugswert becomes subject to wage tax and contributions. If the employee pays at least 4.70 euros for lunch, no non-cash benefit arises at all in 2027, regardless of what the meal actually costs you.

An example: Your canteen serves lunch for 3.00 euros. The non-cash benefit is 1.70 euros per meal (4.70 euros minus 3.00 euros). Over 20 working days that is 34 euros per month, which you either tax individually through payroll or at a flat rate of 25 percent under § 40 (2) sentence 1 no. 1 EStG. Benefits taxed at a flat rate are at the same time exempt from social security contributions under § 1 (1) sentence 1 no. 3 SvEV.

The 2027 meal allowance: up to 7.80 euros per working day

Most small businesses have no canteen of their own. For them the meal allowance via restaurant vouchers, digital meal vouchers or app solutions is the part that really matters. Here the administrative rule in R 8.1 (7) no. 4 LStR applies: a daily allowance is valued at the Sachbezugswert if it exceeds the official value of the meal by no more than 3.10 euros.

The calculation for 2027 is therefore:

1. 4.70 euros Sachbezugswert for lunch,
2. plus 3.10 euros additional employer allowance,
3. makes 7.80 euros per working day (2026: 7.67 euros).

If you issue a meal voucher worth 7.80 euros and the employee pays nothing towards it, you only tax 4.70 euros as a non-cash benefit; the remaining 3.10 euros stay out of the calculation. You can tax the 4.70 euros at a flat rate of 25 percent, plus solidarity surcharge and, where applicable, flat-rate church tax. The allowance then reaches the employee entirely net and free of contributions. Over 20 working days that is 156 euros per month, costing you a flat-rate tax of roughly 23.50 euros plus the ancillary taxes.

The conditions you have to meet

The meal allowance is not a given. The tax authorities attach conditions to it that are regularly checked in wage tax audits:

• An actual meal: The allowance has to be used for a meal. Food for later consumption, such as the weekly shop at the supermarket, is not privileged.
• Only one meal per working day: At most one allowance may be claimed per working day. There is no entitlement on days of leave or sick days.
• No allowance during business trips: For days on which the employee receives a meal allowance (Verpflegungspauschale) because of a business trip, the meal allowance is excluded. The exception is a longer-term business trip after the three-month period has expired.
• No substitution for cash pay: The allowance must not replace wages owed under the contract. If you convert existing salary into meal vouchers, you lose the flat-rate taxation.
• Evidence: For digital solutions, proof of receipt for each meal must be available. The authorities specified the requirements for electronic meal vouchers in the BMF circular of 18 January 2019. Reputable providers reflect this in their app, but check before you sign a contract.

Meal allowance and the 50-euro benefit in kind are two different pots

Often confused: the monthly benefit-in-kind threshold of 50 euros under § 8 (2) sentence 11 EStG is a separate building block. It applies to benefits in kind that are not valued at the official Sachbezugswerte, such as voucher cards or fuel vouchers. The meal allowance and the 50-euro threshold can be combined, but must not be offset against each other. How to use the threshold properly is explained in our article on employee voucher cards.

Meals during business trips and training

If you provide a customary meal of up to 60 euros during a business trip, for example at a client meeting or in the seminar hotel, you do not record it as wages at the Sachbezugswert. Instead, the employee's meal allowance (Verpflegungspauschale) is reduced under § 9 (4a) sentence 8 EStG: by 20 percent of the 24-hour daily allowance for breakfast and by 40 percent each for lunch and dinner. The new Sachbezugswerte only play a role here if no meal allowance is due, for example because the absence lasted less than eight hours. You will find the details on allowances and reductions in our article on travel expenses and additional meal costs.

The 2027 Sachbezugswerte for accommodation and housing

For businesses in hospitality, hotels, care, agriculture or construction, the values for accommodation are often the bigger item. The SvEV clearly distinguishes between accommodation (Unterkunft) and housing (Wohnung):

• Accommodation: A room without its own kitchen, for example in shared accommodation or a staff house. The monthly value rises from 285 to 289 euros, which is 9.63 euros per calendar day (§ 2 (3) SvEV). For admission to the employer's household, for occupancy by several employees and for young people and trainees, the SvEV provides for percentage reductions.
• Housing: A self-contained unit with its own kitchen or cooking facilities and a toilet. It is in principle valued at the rent customary in the locality. If that can only be determined with extraordinary effort, the square-metre value under § 2 (4) SvEV applies: for 2027 that is 5.08 euros per square metre (2026: 5.01 euros), and for basic fittings without central heating or without a bathroom or shower 4.15 euros (2026: 4.10 euros).

If the table value for accommodation is inequitable in an individual case, it may likewise be valued at the customary local rent. For flats you rent to employees, it is also worth looking at the valuation discount under § 8 (2) sentence 12 EStG: if the rent paid is at least two thirds of the customary local rent and that rent is no more than 25 euros per square metre excluding service charges, no non-cash benefit arises to that extent.

What you should prepare now

1. Take stock: List where benefits in kind for meals or accommodation are running in your business: canteen, meal vouchers, staff meals in catering, breakfast in the hotel, staff rooms, company flats.
2. Adjust allowances: If you have so far used the meal allowance up to 7.67 euros, you can raise it to 7.80 euros from January 2027. If you do not, you give away 13 cents per working day of tax-privileged room for manoeuvre. Check with card providers whether the changeover happens automatically.
3. Check employee contributions: If you deliberately set canteen prices or employee co-payments at 4.57 euros so that no non-cash benefit arises, that no longer works from 2027. Without an adjustment to 4.70 euros, a small taxable benefit arises per meal.
4. Check your payroll software: The common programs load the values via update. Even so, check in the January payroll run whether the new values are actually being applied.
5. Wait for the Bundesrat: After 16 October 2026 it will be clear whether the values come through unchanged. Only then should you make final changes to notices, employment contracts or canteen prices.

Our conclusion

The Sachbezugswerte rise moderately in 2027, but the small amounts add up: 13 cents more for lunch means over 300 euros a year at 20 working days and ten employees, which can flow additionally with tax privileges. At the same time, wrongly calculated employee contributions quickly tip into taxability. At Buchführungsheld, real bookkeepers review your benefits in kind, set up meal allowances and flat-rate taxation correctly in payroll and alert you in good time to new values. All at a fixed price, with no hourly billing. If you want to set up your benefits for 2027 properly, book a free initial consultation.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Sachbezugswerte for meals in 2027?

Under the draft ordinance (Bundesrat Drucksache 503/26), the value for breakfast is 2.43 euros and for lunch or dinner 4.70 euros each per calendar day. Full board is to be valued at 355 euros per month or 11.83 euros per calendar day.

How high may the meal allowance be in 2027?

Up to 7.80 euros per working day: 4.70 euros Sachbezugswert plus 3.10 euros under R 8.1 (7) no. 4 LStR. Only the 4.70 euros has to be recorded as a non-cash benefit, which you can tax at a flat rate of 25 percent. The allowance then remains free of tax and contributions for the employee.

Are the 2027 values final yet?

Not yet. The ordinance needs the consent of the Bundesrat, and the deliberation is scheduled for 16 October 2026. The ordinance is due to come into force on 1 January 2027.

What applies to accommodation from 2027?

The monthly value for accommodation rises to 289 euros, which is 9.63 euros per calendar day. For housing, the customary local rent applies in principle, alternatively 5.08 euros per square metre or 4.15 euros for basic fittings.

May I issue meal vouchers on business trip days too?

No, if the employee receives a meal allowance (Verpflegungspauschale) for that day. The meal allowance is then excluded. An exception applies for a longer-term business trip to the same place of work after three months have passed, because no allowance is due any more.

Can I combine the meal allowance with the 50-euro benefit in kind?

Yes. The threshold under § 8 (2) sentence 11 EStG only applies to benefits in kind that are not valued at the official Sachbezugswerte. The meal allowance therefore does not fall within it. Both building blocks run side by side, but have to be recorded separately in payroll.