Which 2027 meal voucher limits are already known?

Germany is the only one with a figure on paper. The draft seventeenth amendment to the Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung sets the benefit in kind value of a meal at 4.70 euro a day from 1 January 2027, up from 4.57 euro, which makes a subsidised meal worth 7.80 euro with the 3.10 euro tax free supplement. It still needs approval by the Bundesrat. Every other market either indexes its figure later in the autumn or has announced nothing.

Will Belgian meal vouchers rise to 12 euro in 2027?

It is promised, not decided. The coalition agreement for 2025 to 2029 contains a second increase of 2 euro after the rise to 10 euro on 1 January 2026, which would bring the voucher to 12 euro and the exempt employer share to 10.91 euro. As at 23 September 2026 no royal decree and no date exist, so 10 euro remains the ceiling to plan against.

When are the 2027 figures published?

Romania indexes for the semester starting in October 2026. Finland's tax administration issues its decision around 20 November. Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria decide inside budgets voted by the end of December. Czechia publishes its decree in December. France revalues the exempt employer share at 1 January. Germany's regulation is already drafted.

What should a card programme do about limits that change every year?

Hold each ceiling as a value with an effective date rather than a constant, allow two values to coexist across a month boundary, and run a report of markets due to change. A stale ceiling does not break the card: it silently costs the employer the exemption on the amount above the limit.

Meal vouchers in Europe Meal voucher limits in Europe in 2027: what is set and what is pending

Meal voucher limits in Europe in 2027: what is set and what is pending

Most 2027 meal voucher limits do not exist yet. They are written in autumn: a German regulation, a Finnish tax decision, an Italian budget law, a Czech decree, a Romanian indexation. This page lists what is already drafted, what is only announced, and which instrument decides each figure, so a programme planning for 2027 knows what to watch and when.

Last reviewed: 23 September 2026. Every status below is the position on that date. The 2026 figures in force are on the limits table, and every dated change is on the calendar.

Where each 2027 figure stands today

Market	2026 in force	What decides 2027	Status on 23 September 2026
Germany	4.57 EUR benefit in kind value, plus up to 3.10 EUR tax free, so 7.67 EUR a meal	Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung, amended annually with consumer prices	Draft published. 4.70 EUR a meal from 1 January 2027, so 7.80 EUR with the supplement
Romania	45 lei a day	Semi-annual indexation in law 165/2018, food price index from the statistics office	Indexed for the semester starting October 2026, figure not published
Finland	8.80 to 14.00 euro range, taxable at 75 percent	Annual decision of the Tax Administration	Expected around late November 2026. The 2026 decision came on 20 November 2025
Czechia	129.50 CZK a shift, 70 percent of the 185 CZK travel meal allowance	Annual decree setting the travel meal allowance	Normally published in December, figure not known
Italy	10 EUR electronic, 4 EUR paper	Budget law, which last moved the electronic value from 8 to 10 EUR	Nothing proposed for 2027. The budget law is voted by the end of December
Belgium	10 EUR a working day, employer share 8.91 EUR	Royal decree, after a political decision	Announced, no text. The government agreement foresees a second rise of 2 EUR, to 12 EUR with an employer share of 10.91 EUR, with no date
France	25 EUR a day of spending, employer share exempt to 7.32 EUR	Annual revaluation of the exemption at 1 January	2027 figure not published. Two other changes are in bill n° 2892
Portugal	6.15 EUR in cash, 10.46 EUR on a card	The civil service meal allowance, set in the state budget	Budget for 2027 not yet voted
Bulgaria	102.26 EUR a month, inside a national quota	The annual budget act, which sets the quota	Quota for 2027 not yet voted
Slovakia	Voucher worth at least 6.98 EUR	Ministry order on the travel meal allowance, moved when food prices rise	No change announced. The last one applied from 1 December 2025
Greece	6 EUR a working day	Amendment to article 43 of law 5006/2022	Proposal only. A rise to 10 EUR was under consideration in September 2026, with no text
Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain	Fixed amounts, see each page	An amendment to the act or decree that names the amount	No 2027 change announced that we have found

Germany is the one 2027 figure you can already plan against

The German benefit in kind values move every year with consumer prices, through a regulation rather than a new law, and the draft for 2027 is out. The seventeenth amendment to the Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung puts the monthly value of full board at 355 euro, with 2.43 euro a day for breakfast and 4.70 euro a day for lunch or dinner, up from 4.57 euro. It needs the approval of the Bundesrat and is planned to take effect on 1 January 2027.

For a meal benefit card the number that matters is the sum. The employer may add up to 3.10 euro on top of the benefit in kind value free of tax and contributions, so a subsidised meal goes from 7.67 euro in 2026 to 7.80 euro in 2027 if the draft passes unchanged. The separate 50 euro monthly allowance for a benefit card is set in the income tax act and is untouched by this regulation, so the two continue to stack. The Germany page has the mechanics.

Belgium: money announced, instrument missing

Belgium raised the ceiling from 8 to 10 euro on 1 January 2026 and lifted the exempt employer share from 6.91 to 8.91 euro. The coalition agreement for 2025 to 2029 promises a second step of the same size, which would put the voucher at 12 euro and the employer share at 10.91 euro. As at 23 September 2026 there is no royal decree, no date and no wage norm exemption for it, so an employer planning 2027 should budget for 10 euro and treat 12 euro as an option that needs a decision first.

France: the ceiling is the least of it

The 25 euro daily spending cap has been stable, and the exempt employer share is revalued at 1 January each year, reaching 7.32 euro in 2026. The 2027 figure follows the same route and lands at the turn of the year. Two larger changes sit in bill n° 2892, filed on 9 June 2026: the derogation that lets a titre-restaurant buy any food product expires on 31 December 2026 in current law and would be extended to 31 December 2027, and paper issuance would end on 1 January 2028. Neither is adopted. The French guide goes through the text article by article.

What autumn 2026 actually decides

October, Romania. The semi-annual indexation sets the ceiling for the semester starting that month, and the following semester brings the next one.
October to December, national budgets. Italy, Portugal and Bulgaria set their figures inside the annual budget, which is voted by the end of December.
Around 20 November, Finland. The Tax Administration issues the fringe benefit decision for the next year, which carries the meal benefit range and the valuation rule.
December, Czechia. The decree on travel meal allowances sets the number that 70 percent of it becomes the voucher ceiling.
Whenever the Bundesrat sits, Germany. The regulation is drafted and waiting for approval.

What this means for a card programme

Every one of these figures is a parameter with an effective date, not a constant. A programme that stores a ceiling in code is wrong twice a year in Romania and once a year almost everywhere else, and the failure is silent: the card keeps working and the employer loses the exemption on the excess. The rules engine needs a value per market with a start date, a way to hold two values across a month boundary, and a report that shows which markets are about to change.

The second consequence is the payroll calendar. A limit that rises on 1 January reaches employees in the January cycle only if the employer decides in December, and the decision needs the figure. That is why the instrument and its usual month matter more than the number itself: they tell you when to ask.

To see what the 2026 ceilings mean for a team today, use the meal benefit calculator. We update this page as each figure lands, and the market pages carry the detail. The 2026 table stays as the reference for what is in force today.