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Working meals (Sachbezug)
Working meals (Sachbezug)

Taxation of meals by the employer.

Juliane Rahmel avatar
Written by Juliane Rahmel
Updated over a week ago

❗️Note: Consult your tax advisor. This article only explains the functionalities of Circula and does not replace legal advice.

Work meals (Sachbezug) are an umbrella term for various legal situations. This explanation does not deal with the remuneration in the context of Circulas employee benefit the voucher benefit.

What is the working meal (Sachbezug)?

There are many different types of working meals (Sachbezug). In general, it refers to benefits provided by the employer to employees that give them a monetary advantage but do not consist in the transfer of wages (e.g. food, electricity to charge the phone, a company flat, a company car, etc.).

This article deals with the specific case of working meals: Meals provided by the enterprise to its employees during a normal working day (i.e. eight hours or less at the first place of work).

Since the legislator wants to ensure that all forms of remuneration are taxed, the meals provided must also be taken into account. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Finance prescribes a value for each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) as the basis for taxation.

What about work meals while traveling (from additional meal expenses)?

If you receive additional meal expenses (up to the tax-free limit) in the context of a trip, it is not a benefit in kind. For business trips of more than 8 hours, the employer may grant additional meal expenses or pay for the meals directly tax-free.

Frequently asked questions

When do working meals constitute as an employee benefit?

In Circula, working meals are defined as meals that are reimbursed by the employer during normal working days at the first place of work. Here, too, we recommend consulting a tax advisor; Circula offers the technical solution for recording.

❗️Please note that this function must be activated individually for Circula. If you are interested, please contact our support.

How can I record working meals (Sachbezug) in Circula?

Create a trip that lasts less than eight hours and select at least one meal in the meal matrix. Submit this trip as usual.

What happens to the recorded non-monetary remuneration for meals?

Non-cash travel is €0.00 for the expense export but generates a taxable value in the wage export.

Does a company have to use the payroll export to be able to use this function?

Yes, the taxable values must be exported via the payroll export.

How do I activate work meals (Sachbezug) for an entity?

In payroll accounting, ask which wage type number is to be transferred to payroll accounting for the benefit in kind. Then contact our support. We will then store the wage type number and activate it.


Do you still have questions?

💬 Chat Support
📞 +49 30 588 491 01
✉️ support@circula.com

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