Meal vouchers in Europe / Buoni pasto rules in Italy in 2026

Buoni pasto rules in Italy in 2026

In 2026 an electronic buono pasto is tax exempt up to 10 EUR per day, raised from 8 EUR, while the paper voucher stays at 4 EUR. The commission an issuing company may charge a shop that accepts vouchers is capped at 5 percent. Issuing is restricted to companies on the ministry register, and each of them must hold a contract with every merchant that accepts its vouchers.

Last reviewed: 28 August 2026. Sources: legislative decree 36/2023 article 131, ministerial decree 122/2017, the 2026 budget law and the competition law of December 2024.

How much is a buono pasto worth tax free in 2026?

Two ceilings, split by format. The electronic voucher is exempt up to 10 EUR per day in 2026, raised from 8 EUR by the budget law. The paper voucher remains at 4 EUR.

The gap is deliberate. Italy has been steering employers toward the electronic format for years, and widening the exemption is the cheapest lever available for doing it. For an employer, the difference between 4 and 10 EUR per working day per employee is the whole argument for switching format.

What is the 5 percent commission cap?

The competition law of December 2024 capped the commission an issuing company may charge a merchant that accepts its vouchers at 5 percent, extending to the private sector a limit that already applied in public procurement.

It came in stages. From 1 September 2025 it applied to newly issued vouchers, with vouchers issued under the previous terms staying valid to the end of that year. From 1 January 2026 it applies across the market.

Context for why this happened: EuroCommerce measured acceptance costs in Italy at between 5 and 20 percent of sales value, against food retail margins of 1 to 3 percent. At the upper end, taking a voucher cost the shop more than it earned on the sale.

Why is the competition authority investigating the market leader?

On 17 March 2026 the Italian competition authority opened investigation A578 into the market leader and its Italian subsidiary over an alleged abuse of a dominant position. The complaint that triggered it came from the large scale retail association in July 2025, and concerns conduct following the introduction of the commission cap.

The proceeding is open and nothing has been decided. It is listed here because it is a matter of public record that shapes commercial terms in the market, not as a comment on the outcome.

Concentration is the backdrop. Four companies hold more than 90 percent of the Italian market by transaction value, and the largest holds more than 50 percent on its own.

Can a buono pasto card work like a normal payment card?

Partly, and the limits are worth understanding before designing a programme.

Ministerial decree 122/2017 requires an agreement between the issuing company and each affiliated merchant. That agreement has to set out the contract term and notice period, the conditions of use, validity and expiry of the voucher, the unconditional discount granted to the issuing company, the payment term the issuer must observe toward the merchant, and a window of at least six months after voucher expiry in which the merchant can claim payment.

The practical consequence for anyone building a card programme: a buono pasto card can run on card rails, but acceptance has to be limited to merchants that hold that agreement. Restricting by merchant category code alone does not meet the requirement, because a category code cannot tell an affiliated merchant from an unaffiliated one.

This is solvable. It means the authorisation decision has to be able to consult the issuer's own merchant list, transaction by transaction, rather than relying on category alone. How that works in practice is covered in how to launch a meal voucher card programme.

How many vouchers can be used in one transaction?

Up to eight. The 2017 decree introduced cumulative use for the first time and set that ceiling, which is why an Italian voucher card typically enforces a per transaction limit as well as a daily one.

Who is authorised to issue buoni pasto in Italy?

The Ministry of Enterprises publishes the register of companies authorised to issue meal service substitutes under legislative decree 36/2023, article 131. As of 29 September 2025 it listed 15 companies:

The register is the reliable picture of the market. Any provider not on it is not issuing buoni pasto in Italy, whatever else it may be offering.

How big is the Italian market?

The rules reach roughly 3.5 million workers across the public and private sectors, and around 170,000 accepting establishments. That combination, a large employee base and a merchant network that has just had its acceptance economics rewritten by law, is why Italy is the most closely watched meal voucher market in Europe right now.

Every dated change across Europe sits on the 2025 to 2028 calendar. For a contrasting model, where new entrants issue on international card networks, see the French rules.