On 1 January 2027, the official German benefit-in-kind values for meals and accommodation will rise. The Bundesrat approved the change on 16 October 2026. The domestic per diems remain unchanged. The Federal Ministry of Finance is expected to publish the allowances abroad for 2027 at the beginning of December. We will add them here as soon as they are available.
Contents: Benefit-in-kind values 2027 · Germany · Reduction · Benefit in kind on trips · Accommodation and travel costs · Abroad · Spesenfuchs
Benefit-in-kind values 2027
| Meal |
per day 2026 |
per day 2027 |
per month 2027 |
| Breakfast |
€2.37 |
€2.43 |
€73 |
| Lunch |
€4.57 |
€4.70 |
€141 |
| Dinner |
€4.57 |
€4.70 |
€141 |
| All meals |
€11.50 |
€11.83 |
€355 |
For free accommodation, €289 per month applies in 2027 (2026: €285). The values apply equally to wage tax and social security.
Per diems 2027 in Germany
| Absence |
Allowance 2027 |
| more than 8 hours |
€14 |
| Day of arrival and departure with overnight stay |
€14 |
| 24 hours |
€28 |
The allowances are set out in the Income Tax Act and have been unchanged since 2020. No change is planned for 2027 (as of 11 November 2026).
Reduction for meals provided
If the employer, or a third party at the employer’s instigation, provides a meal, the allowance is reduced. The basis is always the rate for 24 hours:
| Meal |
Reduction |
Germany 2027 |
| Breakfast |
20% |
€5.60 |
| Lunch |
40% |
€11.20 |
| Dinner |
40% |
€11.20 |
Example: an employee is away for ten hours, the company pays for lunch. Allowance €14 minus €11.20 results in €2.80. No benefit in kind is taxed in this case.
When the benefit-in-kind value applies on trips
On trips, the benefit-in-kind value only matters if no per diem is due. This is usually the case for absences of up to eight hours. A customary meal of up to €60 provided by the employer then counts as wages and is valued at the benefit-in-kind value.
Example: an employee spends six hours at a customer’s, the company pays for lunch costing €18. There is no allowance. €4.70 is applied as a benefit in kind. The employer can tax it at a flat rate of 25%. If the employee pays something towards it, this reduces the value. Meals over €60 are no longer customary meals and are valued at the actual price.
Accommodation and travel costs 2027
| Value |
2027 |
| Overnight allowance Germany (tax-free reimbursement by the employer) |
€20 per night |
| Mileage allowance car |
€0.30 per km |
| Mileage allowance motorcycle, scooter, moped |
€0.20 per km |
| Distance allowance (way to work) |
€0.38 from the 1st km |
We explain the difference between mileage allowance and distance allowance in the guide Distance allowance and mileage allowance.
Allowances abroad 2027
The Federal Ministry of Finance sets the allowances for meals and accommodation abroad anew every year. The letter for 2027 is not yet available. In previous years it was published on 21 November 2023, 2 December 2024 and 5 December 2025. Until then, you will find the current values in the article Per diems 2026. We will add the complete country table for 2027 here as soon as it has been published.
Settling with Spesenfuchs
Spesenfuchs calculates the per diems automatically by country and length of absence, including with several stops. You record meals provided per day, and Spesenfuchs takes care of the reduction by 20% and 40%. Spesenfuchs also takes the benefit-in-kind values for meals provided into account. Kilometres are calculated from the route. The statutory allowances are stored in Spesenfuchs and kept up to date.
Sources: § 2 SvEV, § 8 EStG, § 9 EStG, § 40 EStG, 17th Ordinance amending the SvEV (BR-Drs. 503/26)
