Meal vouchers: employer co-funding and 2026 exemption

Quick answer. Meal vouchers (titres-restaurant) are co-funded by the employer and the employee. To qualify for the exemption from social security contributions and income tax, the employer's share must be between 50% and 60% of the voucher's value, capped at EUR 7.32 per voucher in 2026. The optimal face value is then between EUR 12.20 and EUR 14.64.

Many business owners ask us the same question before a hire or a package review: how can I fund a meal benefit without inflating my payroll costs? The meal voucher is one of the few schemes where the company and the employee share the cost, with an employer share exempt from social security contributions and income tax, under conditions. Poorly calibrated, it becomes a source of payroll reassessment. Here is how to set it up cleanly in 2026.

The meal voucher is not a benefit fully borne by the employer. Its face value is funded by two parties: an employer share and an employee share, deducted from the payslip. This balance is what unlocks the social and tax advantage.

The rule is precise: the employer's contribution must be between 50% and 60% of the voucher value. Below 50% or above 60%, the bracket is breached and the exemption is lost. The employee funds the remainder, that is 40% to 50% of the face value.

Why is the 50-60% bracket so strict?#

This bracket is the entry condition for the favourable regime. It protects both the employee (the employer cannot settle for a symbolic share) and the balance of the scheme (the benefit must not become a fully exempt disguised salary). Stepping outside the bracket, even slightly, does not reduce the advantage: it removes it on the entire employer contribution.

In 2026, the employer's contribution is exempt from social security contributions and income tax up to EUR 7.32 per voucher, compared with EUR 7.26 in 2025, provided the 50-60% bracket is respected. Above EUR 7.32, the excess fraction is added back to the contribution base.

This cap directly determines the face value that maximises the advantage. The calculation is mechanical: for EUR 7.32 to represent the employer share while staying within the bracket, the face value must be between EUR 12.20 and EUR 14.64.

Concretely, if you choose a face value of EUR 12.20 with a 60% employer contribution, the employer share reaches exactly EUR 7.32, fully exempt. If you raise the value to EUR 14.64 with a 50% contribution, the employer share stays at EUR 7.32, still exempt. In between, several combinations work.

Exemption conditions at a glance#

The setup unfolds in a few steps, to be anticipated before the first affected payroll run.

1. Decide on the principle and face value. Balance attractiveness (high value, close to EUR 14.64) against employer cost. Set the value and the employer contribution rate within the 50-60% bracket.
2. Choose a voucher issuer. Vouchers are now most often digital: card or app. Compare management fees, acceptance by merchants and usability for employees.
3. Inform employees and formalise. Communicate the value, the deducted employee share and the usage rules. A written unilateral decision or an agreement secures the scheme.
4. Configure payroll. Enter the employee share as a deduction on the payslip and the employer share exempt up to EUR 7.32. Properly configured payroll software prevents add-back errors.
5. Manage monthly allocation. Count one voucher per worked day with a meal, removing absences, paid leave, remote-work days without a meal taken out depending on your internal rule, and non-worked days.
6. Control and archive. Keep order records, the per-employee count and the calculation trail. These documents are requested in the event of a URSSAF audit.

To make configuration and allocation reliable, suitable payroll software saves considerable time: see our overview of Silae for payroll management.

The allocation principle is simple: one voucher per working day including a meal, that is the days when the employee is present and the workday includes the lunch break. Over a 20-working-day month, a full-time employee present all month therefore receives, in principle, 20 vouchers.

Absence days, paid leave, sick leave and non-worked days must be removed from the count. A part-time employee is entitled only to days actually worked that include a meal. This real-time counting logic is one of the points where we see the most discrepancies in client files.

The meal voucher is not a legal obligation: it is an alternative the company uses when it has no on-site staff canteen. For a very small business or an SME, it is often the most efficient social benefit per euro spent, because the employer share escapes contributions up to EUR 7.32.

Our recommendation: aim for a face value at the top of the bracket if package attractiveness matters (tight recruitment, sector where lunch weighs on employees' budgets), and set the employer contribution to sit right at the EUR 7.32 cap without exceeding it. You thus offer the maximum exempt advantage, without triggering any add-back.

The mistake we correct most often is not about the cap, but about the 50-60% bracket. An employer sets a 65% contribution to be generous, or lets it slip to 48% after a face value increase that was not passed on. In both cases the favourable regime collapses: the employer share becomes fully subject to contributions, not just the fraction above EUR 7.32.

The second blind spot: voucher counting. Distributing a fixed number of vouchers each month without deducting absences, leave and non-worked days creates wrongly allocated vouchers. In an audit, URSSAF can challenge the exemption on the excess vouchers.

• Check that your face value and contribution rate stay within the 50-60% bracket after any revaluation.
• The exempt cap rises to EUR 7.32 in 2026 (from EUR 7.26 in 2025): update your payroll configuration to benefit from the increase.
• Above EUR 7.32, only the excess fraction is added back, not the whole contribution, provided the bracket is respected.
• Keep a per-employee count of qualifying days, a document requested in an audit.

An SME owner consults us after setting up vouchers at EUR 13 with a 62% employer contribution, that is EUR 8.06 per voucher. Two problems combined: the 50-60% bracket was exceeded (62%), and the employer share crossed the EUR 7.32 cap. Result: a risk of add-back on the entire employer contribution, not just the EUR 0.74 above the cap. We brought the contribution down to 56%, that is EUR 7.28 per voucher, within the bracket and under the cap. The advantage stayed nearly maximal, but this time secured.

• Face value set between EUR 12.20 and EUR 14.64 if you aim for the maximum exemption
• Employer contribution between 50% and 60% of the value
• Employer share per voucher at or below EUR 7.32
• Employee share correctly deducted on the payslip
• Monthly per-employee count of qualifying days (excluding absences and leave)
• Order records and calculation archived
• Payroll software configuration checked after each revaluation

For a complete framing of your benefits and payroll policy, our team supports you through the social and payroll service in Paris. And if you are hiring, remember to combine meal vouchers with the other levers covered in our 2026 hiring incentives overview.