The first time my manager mentioned a Sachbezug on a job offer call, I nodded along and wrote down “some kind of bonus.” Two months later I realized he’d been describing a prepaid card worth 50 EUR a month that lands in my account without a single euro of tax being deducted. Nobody in the English-speaking internet had explained it.
Here it is in one paragraph: Germany lets your employer give you vouchers and prepaid cards worth up to 50 EUR a month, tax-free, as long as they come on top of your normal salary. That is real money, roughly the equivalent of a 70 to 90 EUR gross raise at a typical professional tax rate. Most expats never ask for it, because they don’t know it exists.
This is the first post in our series on tax-free employee benefits in Germany; today, the Sachbezug and its trap.
What exactly is a Sachbezug?
Sachbezug translates as “benefit in kind”: any non-cash benefit your employer gives you beyond your wage. A gym membership, a supermarket voucher, a prepaid card, a subsidized canteen lunch: all of these are Sachbezüge.
The umbrella term is geldwerter Vorteil, “a benefit with a monetary value.” German law assumes that if your employer gives you something worth money, that something is income, and income is taxed.
But the law carves out exceptions, and the monthly Sachbezug rule is the most useful one for ordinary employees.
The 50 EUR rule: the heart of it
Section 8(2) of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG) says vouchers, prepaid cards (Gutscheine, Geldkarten), and other non-cash benefits are not taxed at all when the total value of all such benefits in one calendar month stays at or under 50 EUR. In 2026, the limit is still 50 EUR.
Three details matter.
First, the benefit must be on top of your salary. The law requires it to be zusätzlich zum ohnehin geschuldeten Arbeitslohn, “in addition to the salary otherwise owed,” so your employer cannot legally convert 50 EUR of your agreed salary into a voucher. A “voucher component” in a pay package means extra money, not a salary substitute.
Second, the cap is per calendar month. A 30 EUR card in January and a 20 EUR card in March are each fine on their own; nothing accumulates across months.
Third, the rule is all or nothing. If your monthly benefits exceed 50 EUR by even one euro, the whole amount becomes taxable, not just the excess. A card worth 50.50 EUR is treated as fully taxable income.
What counts toward the 50 EUR
The list is broad:
- Prepaid cards for supermarkets, restaurants, or department stores
- Vouchers for specific shops or online retailers
- Gym memberships and wellness subscriptions
Cash is excluded outright. A 50 EUR cash bonus is salary and is taxed as salary. Cards that can be converted back into money cause the same trouble, which is why the safe version only works at named retailers.
Some popular benefits have separate rules and do not eat into the 50 EUR, like the Deutschlandticket subsidy; more in later posts.
The 60 EUR gift allowance: a separate bucket
Alongside the monthly 50 EUR rule, Germany keeps a separate allowance for gifts on special personal occasions. Your employer can give you up to 60 EUR per occasion, tax-free, when there is a real event behind it: a birthday, a wedding, the birth of a child, a job anniversary. In 2026, the allowance is still 60 EUR.
It does not count against your 50 EUR monthly Sachbezug. Get your regular 50 EUR card and a 60 EUR wedding gift in the same month, and both stay tax-free. Two separate allowances, two separate buckets.
Bigger non-cash gifts have a standard path too. Under Section 37b EStG, employers can pay a flat 30% tax on non-cash gifts to employees, which is how larger anniversary presents work. The employer carries the flat tax; you receive the full gift without paying your marginal rate.
What about meals?
Meals are their own category inside the Sachbezug world, valued at the official Sachbezugswerte published each year under the Social Insurance Remuneration Ordinance (Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung). For 2026, the values are 4.57 EUR for lunch, 4.57 EUR for dinner, 2.37 EUR for breakfast, and 11.50 EUR for a full day of meals.
If your company runs a canteen or subsidizes a lunch provider, the meal is assessed against these figures rather than the menu price. The gap between what you pay and the official value is a Sachbezug, and inside the monthly 50 EUR cap it costs you nothing extra in tax.
Above the official values, employers can pay a flat 25% payroll tax on meals instead of your personal rate, through Section 40(2) EStG, with the wider lump-sum machinery anchored in Section 40a EStG. That is why German canteens work at all: the employer picks up a small flat tax and you get a cheap lunch without a taxable benefit on your payslip. The values rise most years, so always check the year.
What it looks like on your payslip
A 50 EUR monthly Sachbezug is worth more than it looks, because it is net money.
At a marginal rate of around 40%, which is normal for a full-time professional salary in Germany, a 50 EUR cash raise leaves you about 30 EUR in your account. A 50 EUR prepaid card, spent on groceries you were buying anyway, is the full 50 EUR. That is 20 EUR a month, 240 EUR a year, for the same cost to your employer. Both sides come out ahead, which is why the scheme exists.
Your payslip may show a line like Sachzuwendung, GeldKarte, or the provider’s name. The value usually appears even when untaxed, because it still counts toward some social insurance thresholds. Many companies roll this into standard packages without advertising it.
How the benefits-card industry works
The physical form is usually a branded prepaid card from a corporate benefits provider: think Pluxee, Edenred, Sodexo, and similar platforms. The mechanics are the same everywhere: your employer loads the monthly allowance onto the card, you get a card or an app wallet, and the money only works at partner merchants like supermarkets, restaurants, petrol stations, and gyms. The legal framework does not depend on the brand, so the logo does not matter; what matters is the 50 EUR and the “on top of salary” condition.
The same cards usually support one-off allowances, which is how the 60 EUR gift flows through the system. For an employee it is zero effort: no forms, no receipts, no tax-return entries.
From the employer’s side
Employers like the Sachbezug because it is cheap retention: for a fixed gross cost, they hand employees a benefit that lands fully in the household budget and feels bigger than a pay rise. It is also administratively clean, configured once in payroll.
Two rules matter from your side. First, the “on top of salary” condition means a company cannot restructure your salary into vouchers to dodge tax; that is illegal payroll trimming and the Finanzamt audits it. Second, if the monthly value crosses 50 EUR, everything becomes taxable, so responsible payroll teams keep a safety buffer.
During negotiations, the Sachbezug is a fair thing to ask about directly: “Does the package include the 50 EUR monthly Sachbezug?” Companies that say no often say yes once the question comes from someone who understands how payroll works.
FAQ
Does the 50 EUR Sachbezug count as part of my taxable salary?
No. Within the 50 EUR limit and granted on top of your salary, it never enters your taxable income (it can still matter for social insurance thresholds).
Can my employer give me cash instead of a card?
No. Cash is taxed as normal salary. Only non-cash benefits qualify, and a benefits card spent at named retailers is the closest thing to cash that still works.
What happens if the 50 EUR is exceeded in one month?
The whole monthly amount becomes taxable, not just the excess. This is why payroll keeps the value safely at or just under 50 EUR.
Is the 60 EUR gift on top of the 50 EUR card?
Yes. They are separate allowances. A 50 EUR monthly card and a 60 EUR birthday gift in the same month are both tax-free.
Do I need to do anything in my tax return?
Normally nothing. Benefits correctly exempted by payroll do not enter your tax return.
Is the 50 EUR limit the same in 2026?
Yes, 50 EUR per month in 2026. The meal values rise most years, and the gift allowance remains 60 EUR per occasion.
German terms you’ll meet
- Sachbezug: benefit in kind, a non-cash perk from your employer
- Geldwerter Vorteil: a benefit with a monetary value, the broad legal concept
- Gutschein: voucher
- Geldkarte: prepaid benefits card
- Zusätzlich zum ohnehin geschuldeten Arbeitslohn: granted on top of the salary otherwise owed
- EStG: Einkommensteuergesetz, the Income Tax Act
- Pauschalversteuerung: flat-rate taxation, where the employer pays a fixed tax so you keep the full benefit
Sources, freshness, and the fine print
This post was last reviewed on 18 August 2026. The 50 EUR monthly rule comes from Section 8(2) EStG, the meal flat-tax rules from Section 40(2) EStG, lump-sum payroll taxation from Section 40a EStG, and the 30% flat tax on non-cash gifts from Section 37b EStG. The official 2026 meal values (4.57 EUR lunch, 11.50 EUR full day) are published under the Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung. German tax law changes every year, so always check the year before relying on any figure.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Confirm the details with your HR or payroll team, or with a Steuerberater (tax advisor) if anything is unusual.
Want the full map of what your employer can give you tax-free? Start with the complete guide to employee benefits in Germany, then check our health insurance guide and how to send money home from Germany, the other two pillars of the expat money setup.
