Increase in the value of meal vouchers

Starting with the salary rights for November 2025, the maximum nominal value of the meal voucher increases from 40.18 lei/working day to 45 lei/working day. The change was introduced by Law 201/2025, published in the Official Gazette no. 1106/28.11.2025, which amends Law no. 165/2018 on the granting of vouchers.

The new value remains valid in the first half of 2026, as well as in the first three months of the second half of 2026 (July, August, and September).

What is the taxation of meal vouchers?

According to Law 227/2015 on the tax code, the Tax Code with subsequent amendments and additions, meal vouchers will be taxed according to the rules for taxing salary income, i.e., health insurance contributions will be withheld and paid, but these will be exempt from the payment of social insurance contributions (25%) and employment insurance contributions (2.25%). The income tax rate applied to salaries is 10% and is applied according to the algorithm provided by the Fiscal Code, art. 78, paragraph (2), letter a).

Tax and social contributions related to income from meal vouchers are added to the rest of the tax and contributions on salaries that the employer withholds and are transferred to the state budget by the 25th of the following month in which the payments will be made.

Meal voucher law

According to Law No. 165/2018, Article 11, paragraph (1), meal vouchers are vouchers granted to employees on a monthly basis as an individual food allowance, used only to pay for meals or to purchase food products.

The legislation in force does not impose a minimum value for meal vouchers; employers are free to set the value of the meal vouchers offered, provided that they do not exceed this ceiling. Although meal vouchers are not mandatory, they are an important factor in the strategy of motivating and rewarding human resources. An eJobs study, conducted in March 2025 on a sample of 1,162 professionally active respondents, shows that 81.6% of them receive meal vouchers from their employer and mention them among the most appreciated benefits.

How are meal vouchers indexed?

The maximum value of the meal voucher is periodically indexed according to food price trends, in accordance with the methodology of the National Institute of Statistics. Factors influencing potential adjustments include inflation trends, changes in the minimum wage, or government fiscal policies.

According to Decision No. 1045 of December 28, 2018, Article 33, paragraph (1), the indexed nominal value of a meal voucher represents the last indexed value of the voucher multiplied by the consumer price index recorded for food commodities. This is calculated as the ratio between the average level of this index for the last six months and the average level of the same index for the previous six months and is communicated by the National Institute of Statistics.