This article explains what the additional meal costs are, what new legal reporting requirements apply from 2026, and how to enter and manage the corresponding values in Personio Payroll. 

What is additional food costs (VMA)?

The additional food expenses are part of the travel expenses. It is intended to compensate for the additional costs of food that an employee incur as a result of business travel or absence from their own home. Under certain conditions, the amount can be granted tax-free by the employer. The amount depends on the length of the daily absence from home and first place of activity. 

Since 2020, the following flat rates have been in force for Germany: 

Individual proof of actual food costs is excluded. Only the statutory lump sums apply. 

For the travel and departure fee of 14.00€, it is irrelevant where the business trip starts or ends. A minimum period of absence will not be checked for this day. The only requirement is several days of working abroad with an overnight stay outside the home. 

For professional trips abroad, the respective country-specific flat rates apply, which are set by the Federal Ministry of Finance. 

Note
If an external activity without an overnight stay extends over two calendar days, the absences of both days are added together. If the total absenteeism is more than eight hours, the lump sum of 14.00€ is added to the calendar day on which the predominant period of absence falls. 

Statutory basis

The legal basis for additional catering costs can be found in the following texts: 

• Payroll tax: The exemption from income tax is regulated in Sections 3 No. 13 and 16 EStG. In addition, explanatory notes can be found in R 9.6 LStR. The lump sums for additional catering expenses are set out in Section 9 (4a) EStG.
• Social security: The exemption from social security contributions results from Section 1 (1) sentence 1 No. 1 and 3 SvEV.

First place of activity as a point of reference

absence from the first place of activity is considered a central reference point in the calculation of additional catering expenses. An employee can have at most one first place of activity per employment relationship. 

The first place of activity is a fixed operational facility of the employer, an affiliated company or a third party determined by the employer, to which the employee is permanently assigned. The following applies:

1. Priority is given to the allocation of employment law by the employer, for example by means of an employment contract
2. If there is no clear classification of employment law, time criteria are decisive: A first place of activity exists if the employee works there on at least two full working days a week or at least one third of his agreed regular working time. 

A home office is never a first place of activity, even if the employer rents the space. 

The 3-month period

The food allowance can only be granted tax-free for the first three months for the same foreign activity. The following applies: 

• The period starts when the employee visits the external place of work at least three days a week. If there is a maximum of two days a week, the period does not start
• The period starts again if work at the same job is interrupted for at least four weeks. The reason for the interruption is irrelevant. This may also be an interruption due to illness or vacation. 
• These regulations also apply to postings within a group

After this 3-month period, tax-free food allowances can no longer be granted. Further payments are considered taxable wages. According to Section 40 (2) sentence 1 No. 4 EStG, a lump sum tax of 25% is only possible up to twice the lump sum. 

Note
If a business trip lasting several days continues beyond a weekend because, for example, a return trip is unacceptable, the entitlement to the food allowance persists. In the case of a private extension, the entitlement for the corresponding days is waived. 

Reduction in provided meals

If the employer or a third party provides the employee with a meal on their behalf, a distinction must be made between normal employer catering (meal up to 60.00€) and a reward meal (meal over 60.00€). Co-payments from the employee are not taken into account when checking this limit. 

Meals up to €60.00

The daily rate is reduced by the following values: 

The reduction is made to a maximum of 0€; there must be no negative amount. For trips abroad, the respective foreign lump sums are used as the basis for calculation. 

It is irrelevant whether the employee actually eats the meal or whether the actual value is lower than the reductions.

Whether you have to cut meals depends on who actually pays for the meal: 

• If the employer pays for the meal directly, for example via a hotel bill, there is an obligation to cut back.
• If the employer deducts the amount from the employee's travel expense report so that the employee actually pays for the meal himself, the reduction obligation does not apply.
• If the employer does not pay a meal allowance, the employer's obligation to cut does not apply. In this case, the employee may take the reduction into account himself when filing his income tax return. 

A snack or snack provided, such as sandwiches, cake or fruit, can also be considered a meal and lead to a reduction if it replaces one of the three main meals. Meal stamps or vouchers are not considered as provided meals within the 3-month period, but as a cash subsidy. In this case, the lump sum must be reduced by the actual nominal value. 

If a hotel bill only includes a total price for accommodation and food without the catering percentage being determined, this total price is reduced by 20% for breakfast and 40% for each lunch or dinner of the meal allowance for a 24-hour absence. 

If an employee does not receive a meal allowance anyway because, for example, the 8-hour limit has not been reached or the 3-month period has been exceeded, the reduction does not apply anyway. In this case, a usual meal (up to €60.00) is taxed with the official benefit in kind instead (2026: €2.37 for breakfast, €4.57 for lunch or dinner). This tax can be paid individually in accordance with ELSTAM characteristics or as a flat rate of 25%.

Meals over €60.00

There is no reduction in the meal allowance here. Instead, the monetary advantage is taxed in the amount of actual costs, either according to the individual tax characteristics of the employee or as a lump sum of 30% in accordance with Section 37b (2) EStG. 

Documentation and certification

Travel expense reports must be kept as documents to the payroll account. Tax-free meal allowances must always be shown in line 20 of the income tax certificate. 

The capital letter M must be certified if the employer or a third party, on his behalf, has provided an employee outside of home and first place of activity with a usual meal of up to €60.00, valued at the official benefit in kind. The certification requirement applies regardless of whether the monetary benefit was taxed individually or as a lump sum, and regardless of the number of meals served in the calendar year. There is no certification requirement for a reward meal of €60.00. 

New reporting requirement from January 1, 2026

Since January 1, 2026, the Income Tax Act has required employers to show additional food expenses for business trips on the annual income tax certificate (LStB). This applies even if the amount was reimbursed outside the billing system, for example via separate travel expense tools, by credit card or manual transfer. 

manage additional meals expenses in Personio Payroll

General 

To help you prepare a legally compliant income tax certificate, Personio provides you with a wage type for additional meals expenses. If a corresponding wage type has not yet been set up in your account, this is automatically created for you. Manual setup is not required in this case.

• The wage type allows you to enter values per employee and month as an individual entry or as a bulk import.
• The wage type lists values entered monthly in the income statement and in the payroll account and annually in the income tax certificate. 

We recommend that you enter the values monthly so that no values are missing from the income tax certificate, especially in the event of withdrawals during the year.

Note
This wage type only represents the tax-free amount of additional food expenses that you have calculated yourself in accordance with the rules described above. It does not automatically identify the capital letter M on the income tax certificate.

Before you begin

To manage additional meal expenses, first ensure that you have the following permissions:

• You need editing rights for the salary tab of the respective employee.
• Personio Payroll must be activated for your Organisation and the corresponding company.

Deposit additional catering expenses 

Store values individually

To store a value individually for the employee, proceed as follows: 

1. Open the appropriate employee profile > Compensation.
2. Click Add > one-time remuneration.
3. From the list, select the salary type Additional Meal Expenses LStB.  
4. Enter the amount and date. 
5. Click Save. 

import values in bulk

If you want to deposit the amounts for several employees at the same time, proceed as follows: 

1. Go to Settings > Imports.
2. Download the appropriate one-time compensation template
3. Fill out the template with the employee's email address, the name of the salary type, the amount, a comment, and the relevant month and year.
4. Upload the completed file. 

You can find more information about bulk importing in our article on the topic.

Manage additional catering expenses

Registered values can be viewed at any time in the salary tab of the respective employee. We recommend a monthly rather than a one-time annual entry, as this reduces the risk of overlooking values for employees leaving during the year.

In addition, you should check the stored values before preparing the income tax certificate. In this way, deviations are noticed even before they are created.

In payslip

If a value has been entered for additional catering expenses, this appears: 

• Monthly on the payslip and payroll account of the respective employee.
• Aggregated annually on the income tax statement

Add capital letter M to Personio Payroll

To enter the capital letter M in the payslip for the income tax certificate, proceed as follows: 

1. Open the appropriate employee profile > Personal info.
2. Go to the Taxes section.
3. Click Edit.
4. In the Travel Expenses attribute, enter: Meal provision worth yes.
5. Click Set effective date.
6. Save the appropriate date and confirm the change by sending.

Product restrictions 

The feature does not actual cover the following points:

• No automatic data import: There is no automatic connection to external travel expense tools (such as Lanes & Planes, Moss, Navan, Circula or Concur). Enter values manually or import them in bulk.
• No validation by Personio: Personio does not check whether the entered values are correct and complete. That responsibility lies with you.
• No audit of the first place of activity: Personio does not determine whether and where an employee has their first place of work. You carry out this classification and the resulting absence calculation yourself before you enter the value.
• No automatic reduction: Personio does not charge any reduction due to meals provided or due to the expiration of the 3-month period. You enter the value that has already been abbreviated or correctly calculated yourself.
• Only tax-free share: The salary type represents only the tax-free portion of additional catering expenses. You process taxable shares, for example above the tax-free lump sum or after the 3-month period has elapsed, as regular salary via the payroll run.
• No preview before the income tax certificate is issued: There is currently no preview available in which you can view stored values in advance in the income tax certificate.
• No automatic notification if values are missing: There is currently no automated notification in the application if no value has been stored for an employee.