According to the BMF-letter from 18.01.2019 the following requirements apply:

Requirements for the receipt

You can always submit receipts in the Circula mobile or web app within the month in which they are issued in order for them to count towards your lunch benefit.

The most convenient way to submit receipts using the Circula mobile app is to follow the steps below:

You can check your submissions in the "Benefits" tab. (Each submission has a status, approved receipts show the calculated reimbursement amount).

You can also submit meal allowances in the Circula Web App by following the steps below:

You can check your submissions in the "Benefits" tab. (Each submission has a status, approved receipts show the calculated reimbursement amount).

Receipts to be reimbursed must always be submitted within the month of their issuance to be effective in calculating the reimbursement.

Please note:

For any corrections, we extend this time frame to submit to 01 - 03 of the following month. Benefits submitted in this time frame should be correct and meet all requirements, as no resubmissions will be accepted after the third.

Of course! If you submit more than 15 receipts, we will make sure that the highest possible amount is calculated for you.

Receipts from multiple points of purchase may be submitted daily if they are combined into one meal. The receipts can be collected and submitted together (up to 3 receipts can be added to a submission).

If a receipt is added later, it can also be submitted separately (Circula adds the receipts of a day together at the end of the month and calculates the daily reimbursement amount).

Beverages may also be submitted if they are usually consumed in connection with a meal. Drinks containing alcohol are excluded from this.

In order for us to be able to verify that a beverage was consumed in connection with a meal, beverages should always be submitted together with other foodstuffs. The items can, of course, be on more than one receipt.

No. For each working day and each subsidized meal, only one subsidy can be recognized at the official non-cash remuneration value. If the employee purchases additional meals for other days in stock on the same day, subsidies granted for this must be recorded as cash wages.

Circula stores receipts in an audit-proof manner. Unless your company expresses other requirements, receipts do not need to be stored. However, we advise you to keep the receipts until the controlling is done in Circula.

Yes! When working remotely or from home, the use of Circula Benefits is possible under the same conditions.

Yes! The allowance is only omitted in the case of "short-time work 0" (100% loss of working hours).

No! On a business trip, per diems can be paid out, the subsidy through meal vouchers is therefore not possible here.

If the employee performed both an outside activity and work at his/her normal place of work on one day, he/she can use Circula Lunch on that day if he/she did not claim a tax-free per diem meal allowance and the outside activity lasted less than 8 hours.

The submitting employee's first place of work must be in Germany, and the employee must be subject to tax and social security contributions in Germany. In addition, the employee must not be on a business trip. If these requirements are met, the employee can submit receipts from abroad.

The reimbursement is made in the following month together with your salary. You therefore receive the allowance conveniently directly into your account.

No. The costs of using Circula are borne by your employer. For you as an employee the net salary simply increases.

Yes, your data will be saved in the Circula app. You can log in with your new smartphone.

You can withdraw from Circula Benefits any time you want. Just contact your HR manager.

Yes. Circula ensures that your data is secure. You can find all information about data protection at Circula here.