SPESENFUCHS
From January 1, 2026, a permanent VAT reduction will apply in Germany for food in restaurants:
The tax rate will fall from 19% to 7%. Drinks will continue to be taxed at 19%.
This change in the law affects not only restaurants, but also companies that charge business meals, business trips and entertainment expenses.
Effects on entertainment costs and expenses
The new regulation means for travel expense reports:
- Changed VAT on meals
- Different tax rates for food and beverages continue to apply
- Higher requirements for correct document entry
The time and effort involved in manually checking tax rates increases, especially for many business meals.
How Spesenfuchs takes the new regulation into account
Spesenfuchs automatically takes the new VAT regulation into account for receipts from 01.01.2026.
The software ensures that entertainment receipts are processed correctly and displayed correctly for tax purposes – without any additional manual effort.
Your advantages:
- Correct VAT rates
- Clean accounting of hospitality costs
- GoBD-compliant documentation
- Fewer errors in accounting and tax audits
The changes in detail:
- Hospitality receipts will receive an additional field for an additional amount for drinks if the hospitality is provided in Germany from 1.1.2026. This way, you can continue to enter hospitality in one step and not have to split the receipt. In the field for the meal, the reduced VAT rate valid on the voucher date is offered and the field for the drinks is preset with the full VAT rate valid on the voucher date.
- Spesenfuchs will also offer an additional field for drinks in hotel receipts for overnight stays in Germany with breakfast from January 1, 2026. So if you stay in a hotel with breakfast, you do not need to split receipts for drinks and breakfast, but can enter all data in one receipt.
Well prepared for 2026
The reduction in VAT in the catering industry brings changes for travel costs and expenses. With Spesenfuchs, your expense reports will remain simple, correct and legally compliant from 2026.