In 2025, correctly applying for non-cash benefits could unlock significant advantages for your business.

These values are adjusted annually to reflect changes in the cost of living and can have a substantial impact on both your company's tax obligations and your employees' take-home pay.

Definition of Non-Cash Benefits

Sachbezugswerte, or non-cash benefits, are a form of compensation provided to employees that don't come in the form of money. These can include meals, accommodation, or even company cars.

The German government assigns specific monetary values to these benefits for tax and social security purposes.

The primary purpose of Sachbezugswerte is to ensure fair and consistent taxation of non-monetary benefits across all businesses.

By setting standard values, the government creates a level playing field and simplifies the process of calculating taxable income for both employers and employees.

Legal Basis: SvEV and Verbraucherpreisindex

The legal foundation for Sachbezugswerte lies in two key elements:

SvEV (Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung): this is the Social Security Compensation Ordinance that governs how non-cash benefits are valued for social security contributions.

‍Verbraucherpreisindex (Consumer Price Index): this index measures the average price change for all goods and services purchased by households for consumption purposes. It plays a crucial role in determining the annual adjustments to Sachbezugswerte.

The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales) uses these tools to set the Sachbezugswerte each year, typically announcing the new values in the fourth quarter for the following year.

Overview of Changes from 2024 to 2025

To give you a clear picture of how Sachbezugswerte have evolved, let's compare the values for 2024 and 2025:

As you can see, there's been a significant increase across all food-related benefits, with an average rise of about 6.3%. This reflects the ongoing inflation and increased cost of living in Germany.

The accommodation value, however, has seen a more modest increase of 1.44%.

The 2025 Sachbezugswerte are based on the latest amendment to the Social Security Compensation Ordinance (Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung - SvEV).

To put these changes into perspective, let's look at how the daily meal allowances have evolved over the past few years:

This upward trend highlights the importance of staying updated on these values and adjusting your employee benefit strategies accordingly.

As an employer, you need to be aware of these changes to ensure you're complying with tax regulations and maximizing the benefits for both your company and your employees.

The Verbraucherpreisindex, which plays a crucial role in determining the annual adjustments to Sachbezugswerte, is calculated and published by the Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt).

Detailed Breakdown of Sachbezugswerte 2025 

Now that we've covered the basics, let's dive into the specifics of Sachbezugswerte for 2025.

Understanding these details will help you make informed decisions about your employee benefit strategy, particularly when it comes to meal allowances.

Meal allowances (Verpflegung) 

The meal allowance portion of Sachbezugswerte is particularly relevant for businesses looking to provide food benefits to their employees. Let's break down the values for different meal types and scenarios:

Monthly and Daily Values for Different Meals

As you can see, the government values lunch and dinner equally, while breakfast is valued at roughly half the price of the other meals.

This breakdown allows for flexibility in how you structure your meal benefits.

For instance, if your company primarily provides lunch to employees, you're working with a daily value of €4.40 per person.

This means you can offer meals up to this value tax-free, providing a significant benefit to your employees without increasing their taxable income.

Variations for Different Age Groups

It's important to note that these values can vary for different age groups, particularly for family members of employees. Here's a breakdown:

This differentiation is particularly relevant if your company offers family benefits or if you're in an industry where employees' family members might receive meals (e.g., company events, cafeterias open to families).

For more ideas on how to make your company lunches engaging and beneficial, check out our article on Creative Company Lunch Ideas: Keeping Employees Happy and Productive.

Accommodation (Unterkunft) 

While meal allowances are often the most relevant for day-to-day operations, it's worth understanding the accommodation values as well:

Special Considerations for Employer-Provided Housing

If you provide housing for your employees, these values become crucial.

However, there are some special considerations:

1. If the local rental price is significantly different from these standard values, you may use the local price instead.
2. For apartments (as opposed to single rooms), you can use a rate of €4.95 per square meter in 2025.
3. For simple accommodations without central heating or private bathroom, a reduced rate of €4.05 per square meter applies.

Providing Meal Allowances: Solutions and Options

Now that you understand the values, let's discuss how you can effectively provide meal allowances to your employees. There are several approaches:

1. Traditional Cafeteria Services: Some companies opt for on-site cafeterias, where meals are provided at subsidized rates.
2. Meal Vouchers: Many businesses use meal voucher systems, where employees receive vouchers that can be used at participating restaurants or supermarkets.
3. Digital Meal Allowance Platforms: Modern solutions offer digital platforms where employees can order meals from a variety of restaurants, with the company subsidizing up to the tax-free amount.
4. Prepaid Cards: Some providers offer prepaid cards that employees can use specifically for meals, with automatic tax-free limit tracking.

While there are several providers in this space, Bella&Bona offers a unique digital solution that combines the flexibility of meal ordering with automatic tax optimization.

Our platform ensures that you're always maximizing the tax-free allowance, while providing your employees with a wide variety of high-quality meal options delivered directly to your office.

By leveraging digital solutions like ours, you can not only simplify the administration of meal benefits but also provide a modern, flexible perk that your employees will truly appreciate.

Impact on Your Business and Employees 

Understanding the Sachbezugswerte is just the first step. Now, let's explore how these values affect your business and your employees, and why accurate implementation is crucial.

Tax Implications for Employers

As an employer, providing meals or meal allowances up to the Sachbezugswerte limits can offer significant tax advantages:

This €1,108.80 per employee per year is a tax-deductible expense for your business, and you don't pay any social security contributions on this amount.

‍For a company with 100 employees, this could mean a tax-deductible expense of over €110,000 annually.

Benefits for Employees

For your employees, the advantages of receiving meals or meal allowances up to the Sachbezugswerte limits are equally impressive:

As you can see, providing a meal allowance effectively doubles the net benefit to the employee compared to a cash salary increase of the same amount.

Providing meal benefits isn't just about financial advantages. A well-planned meal program can significantly contribute to employee wellbeing.

Learn more about How Your Diet Affects Your Mental Health to understand the full impact of your meal benefit program.

Importance of Accurate Calculation and Reporting

Given the significant tax implications for both employers and employees, accurate calculation and reporting of Sachbezugswerte is crucial. To ensure accuracy:

1. Keep Detailed Records: Document all meal benefits provided, including dates and values.
2. Use Reliable Systems: Implement software or partner with providers (like Bella&Bona) that automatically track and calculate benefits.
3. Regular Audits: Conduct internal audits to ensure your benefit program aligns with current regulations.
4. Stay Informed: Keep up-to-date with annual changes to Sachbezugswerte and related regulations.

So, you can create a win-win situation: your business benefits from tax deductions and happier employees, while your team enjoys tax-free benefits that significantly boost their effective compensation.

Step-by-Step Guide for Calculating Meal Benefits

Follow these steps to accurately calculate meal benefits for your employees:

1. Determine the number of working days in the month
2. Identify which meals you're providing (breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner)
3. Multiply the daily value for each meal by the number of working days
4. Sum up the total benefit value
5. Compare this to the monthly maximum to ensure compliance

Let's walk through an example calculation for an employee working 21 days in a month, receiving lunch each workday:

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

When implementing meal benefits based on Sachbezugswerte, be wary of these common mistakes:

1. Exceeding daily limits: Ensure that the value of meals provided doesn't exceed the daily limit (€11.10 for full board in 2025).
2. Ignoring partial months: For employees starting or leaving mid-month, pro-rate the benefit accordingly.
3. Neglecting documentation: Keep detailed records of meals provided, including dates and values.
4. Misclassifying meals: Remember that lunch and dinner have the same value (€4.40), while breakfast is lower (€2.30).
5. Forgetting to update values annually: Sachbezugswerte change each year, so update your calculations every January.

Meal Benefit Maximization Example

At Bella&Bona, we've developed a system to help you maximize the benefits of Sachbezugswerte for your business and employees.

Here's an example of how our service can optimize your meal benefit program:

Here's how Bella&Bona helps you maximize the benefit:

1. Flexible Ordering: Employees can order meals from a variety of restaurants, up to their daily limit.
2. Smart Tracking: Our system automatically tracks each employee's meal benefit usage, ensuring they never exceed the tax-free limit.
3. Reporting: We provide detailed reports for your accounting team, simplifying tax reporting and compliance.
4. Customization: You can set company-specific limits, such as a daily maximum below the Sachbezugswert if desired.
5. Employee Education: We provide resources to help your employees understand and fully utilize their meal benefits.

6. Future Trends in Employee Benefits

Based on recent trends, we can expect Sachbezugswerte to continue increasing annually, reflecting inflation and rising food costs. It's likely that we'll see:

• Annual increases of 3-6% for meal allowances
• Possible introduction of new categories to accommodate changing work patterns (e.g., remote work meal allowances)

Evolving Employee Expectations for Meal Benefits

Employee preferences are shifting, and companies have to adapt to the future conception of the office:

• Increased demand for flexibility in meal choices
• Growing interest in healthy and sustainable food options
• Expectation of seamless, tech-enabled benefit experiences

At Bella&Bona, we're committed to innovating and evolving our services to meet these changing needs:

1. Continuous Platform Updates: We regularly enhance our digital platform to improve user experience and add new features.
2. Expanding Restaurant Network: We're constantly adding new partners to provide more diverse and high-quality meal options.
3. Sustainability Initiatives: We're implementing eco-friendly practices and partnering with restaurants that prioritize sustainability.
4. Data-Driven Insights: We use aggregated data to help companies optimize their meal benefit programs and predict future trends.

As employee expectations evolve, meal benefits are becoming an increasingly important factor in attracting and retaining top talent.

For more strategies to make your company stand out to potential hires, read our article on 5 Creative Strategies to Attract Top Talent.

By staying attuned to these trends and continuously innovating, we ensure that your meal benefit program remains a valuable and appealing perk for your employees.

FAQs

What are Sachbezugswerte? 

Sachbezugswerte are official figures set by the German government that determine the taxable value of non-cash benefits provided to employees, such as meals or accommodation.

How often do Sachbezugswerte change? 

Sachbezugswerte are adjusted annually, typically announced in the fourth quarter for the following year.

What are the Sachbezugswerte for meals in 2025? 

In 2025, the daily values are: Breakfast €2.30, Lunch €4.40, Dinner €4.40. The monthly full board value is €333.

Are meal benefits provided up to the Sachbezugswerte limit tax-free for employees? 

Yes, meal benefits provided up to the Sachbezugswerte limit are tax-free for employees and do not count as taxable income.

What happens if an employer provides meals exceeding the Sachbezugswerte limit? 

If the value of provided meals exceeds the Sachbezugswerte limit, the excess amount is considered taxable income for the employee and subject to regular income tax and social security contributions.

Is it mandatory for employers to provide meal benefits based on Sachbezugswerte? 

No, it's not mandatory. Sachbezugswerte provide a framework for tax-efficient meal benefits, but employers can choose whether or not to offer these benefits to their employees.