Food vouchers and employee benefits — the tax treatment in 2026

Food vouchers remain one of the most effective employee benefits in Bulgaria — tax-free for the employee and fully deductible for the company. Combined with voluntary insurance, they let an employer deliver meaningful additional income at minimal tax cost to both sides.

The tax-free limits for 2026

Electronic vouchers only

Since 1 July 2024 the relief applies only to electronic food vouchers issued by a licensed operator. Paper vouchers no longer qualify. Make sure your operator is on the Ministry of Finance list.

The real financial effect

For a company with 50 employees receiving the maximum 102.26 EUR of vouchers a month, the annual cost is around 61,356 EUR — fully deductible, with no expense tax and no social security. Against paying the same sum as a cash bonus (subject to income tax and full contributions), the saving for company and employees alike is substantial — in a larger organisation it runs into tens of thousands of euro a year from this element of pay alone.

The conditions for granting them lawfully

• Vouchers must be given to all employees under uniform, objective rules — not selectively.
• The operator must be on the official list of licensed providers.
• The benefit is introduced by an internal act (an order, or an addition to the internal pay rules).
• The employer must have no enforceable public liabilities outstanding at month end.
• Directors on management contracts are also entitled to vouchers — they fall within “all employees”.

What happens if you exceed the limit

Anything above 102.26 EUR a month in vouchers is treated as a social expense and taxed at 10% expense tax (with no social security for the employee). But granting them selectively, or using an unlicensed operator, invalidates the relief entirely entirely — and then the whole amount becomes taxable.

What is proposed for 2027

The Ministry of Finance draft of 23 September 2026 changes food vouchers from 1 January 2027:

The employer withholds the tax and pays it to the budget. The draft is inconsistent on the deadline — the 15th of the following month in the text, the end of the following month in the explanatory notes. Employer organisations propose taxing only the part above €102.26, or a 3.5% rate. The final rules will be clear once Parliament votes — we will update this article. All changes for 2027: Bulgaria tax changes 2027.

Conclusion

A tax-free benefits package of 132.94 EUR a month is a real, easily implemented retention tool that many small and medium-sized companies still do not use to its full extent. Reviewing it is a quick win in any audit of staff costs.

Other tax-free benefits

Besides vouchers and voluntary insurance, the law exempts other benefits from expense tax where the conditions are met — organised transport between home and work, canteen meals on the employer’s own premises, and certain health and recreation costs. Combining these with vouchers builds a complete benefits package that raises the net value of pay for the employee without a proportionate rise in cost for the employer. The key is that every benefit must be available to all employees and documented by an internal act.

Frequently asked questions