--- title: "Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact" description: "Meal allowance 2026: new limits of €10.46 by card and €6.15 in cash. Save €676/year per worker by opting for vouchers." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact", "description": "Meal allowance 2026: new limits of €10.46 by card and €6.15 in cash. Save €676/year per worker by opting for vouchers.", "url": "https://grupoyour.com/en/blog/meal-allowance-2026-limits-tax-impact", "datePublished": "2026-03-18T10:00:00+00:00", "dateModified": "2026-03-31T00:58:14.244226+00:00", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruno Rodrigues", "sameAs": "https://pt.linkedin.com/in/bruno-rodrigues-47283713", "url": "https://pt.linkedin.com/in/bruno-rodrigues-47283713" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Grupo Your", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://grupoyour.com/favicon.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/grupoyour/", "https://www.facebook.com/OGrupoYour", "https://www.instagram.com/grupoyour/" ] }, "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://grupoyour.com/images/blog/grupo-your-subsidio-refeicao-2026-limites-impacto-fiscal.jpg", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://grupoyour.com/en/blog/meal-allowance-2026-limits-tax-impact" }, "inLanguage": "en", "keywords": "irs, remunerações, subsídio refeição, poupança fiscal", "wordCount": 241 }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Grupo Your", "item": "https://grupoyour.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://grupoyour.com/en/blog" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact", "item": "https://grupoyour.com/en/blog/meal-allowance-2026-limits-tax-impact" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Meal Vouchers vs. Cash - What is the Tax Difference?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "By paying the meal allowance in vouchers instead of cash, the company can allocate a higher daily amount to the worker (up to €10.46) without the excess over the cash limit (€6.15) constituting taxable income." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How Much is the Difference? A Practical Example", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Considering a meal allowance of €10.46/day paid entirely by card, with 250 working days per year and an effective IRS rate of 28%:" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://grupoyour.com/en" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://grupoyour.com/en/blog" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact" } ] } ] --- [Saltar para o conteúdo](#main-content) [![Grupo Your - Abertura de Empresa em Portugal](/assets/logo-2wXESdnX.png)](/en) Grupo YourServicesTools[Contacts](/en/contacts) 7 EN Personalized Proposal 1. [Home](/en) 2. [Blog](/en/blog) 3. Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact [Back to blog](/en/blog) [irs](/en/blog?tag=irs)[remunerações](/en/blog?tag=remunera%C3%A7%C3%B5es)[subsídio refeição](/en/blog?tag=subs%C3%ADdio%20refei%C3%A7%C3%A3o)[poupança fiscal](/en/blog?tag=poupan%C3%A7a%20fiscal) # Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact ![Bruno Rodrigues](/images/authors/bruno-rodrigues.png) [Bruno Rodrigues](/en/blog/author/bruno-rodrigues)[](https://pt.linkedin.com/in/bruno-rodrigues-47283713) 18 March 2026· 1 min read Share ![Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact por Bruno Rodrigues - Grupo Your Contabilidade](https://xmvtahclopqwmxwnbimy.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/grupo-your-subsidio-refeicao-2026-limites-impacto-fiscal.jpg "Meal Allowance 2026 - New Limits and Tax Impact por Bruno Rodrigues - Grupo Your Contabilidade") ## In this article - [New Limits in 2026](#new-limits-in-2026) - [Meal Vouchers vs. Cash - What is the Tax Difference?](#meal-vouchers-vs-cash---what-is-the-tax-difference) - [How Much is the Difference? A Practical Example](#how-much-is-the-difference-a-practical-example) - [Recommendation](#recommendation) Ordinance No. 51-B/2026/1 of January 30 updated the meal allowance value for Public Administration workers, with retroactive effects from January 1, 2026. ## New Limits in 2026 From January 1, 2026, daily meal allowance limits not subject to IRS and Social Security contributions are: - **💳 Paid by card (vouchers): €10.46** per working day - **💵 Paid in cash: €6.15** per working day ## Meal Vouchers vs. Cash - What is the Tax Difference? By paying the meal allowance in vouchers instead of cash, the company can allocate a higher daily amount to the worker (up to €10.46) without the excess over the cash limit (€6.15) constituting taxable income. ## How Much is the Difference? A Practical Example Considering a meal allowance of **€10.46/day** paid entirely by card, with 250 working days per year and an effective IRS rate of 28%: Item Value Daily allowance paid € 10.46 IRS savings (28% rate) - employee € 301.70 TSU savings - employee € 118.53 TSU savings - company € 255.90 **Total savings per worker (company + employee)** **€ 676.13** ## Recommendation If your company still pays the meal allowance in cash and can switch to cards or meal vouchers, this is a decision with immediate tax impact. The savings are real, legal and simple to implement. _Tax Informative No. 4/2026 · Ordinance No. 51-B/2026/1_ 0 0 Share ### Get the latest tax news Subscribe to our newsletter and receive articles, tax alerts and tips directly in your inbox. Subscribe I agree to receive email communications from Grupo Your. I can unsubscribe at any time. My data will be processed according to the [privacy policy](/en/privacy-policy). ### Need help with your company? 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