How to save taxes by working: food and transportation tax breaks

Workers can benefit from some tax exemptions in the workplace.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
11 December 2022 Sunday 22:44
25 Reads
How to save taxes by working: food and transportation tax breaks

Workers can benefit from some tax exemptions in the workplace. Transportation, training courses and spending on restaurants can reduce the tax bill. One of the most widespread social benefits in companies are meal vouchers, which were used by 536,232 people in Spain last year, according to industry estimates.

Food vouchers, in the form of restaurant tickets or cards, are part of the payments in kind that some companies make to their employees through social benefits -additional payment to salary- or flexible remuneration -in which the worker voluntarily decides to receive a percentage of his remuneration in kind. “With inflation, the loss of purchasing power of the worker, more attention than ever is being paid to tax-advantaged products or services. Also the companies that have the capacity to implement this type of policy ”, assert from the Association of Food Vouchers and Other Services (Aeevcos).

The association claims that the Government raise the maximum exemption from food vouchers to 13 euros since it has remained unchanged at 11 euros since 2018. The increase, it defends, would help users of this service who work in large cities, where the average price of the daily menu exceeds the amount of the restaurant ticket, stop paying the difference with the taxable part of your salary.

According to data collected by Hospitality of Spain last April, the daily menu costs an average of 12.8 euros in Spain. In cities like Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Murcia, Malaga, Palma or Bilbao it exceeds the barrier of 13 euros, and in Barcelona and Madrid it is close to 14 euros.

According to a report prepared by the Pwc consultancy commissioned by the association, the food voucher sector generates a positive impact on the Spanish economy. The 632 million euros spent last year on this type of service generated 20,610 jobs and a tax collection of 513 million. In this sense, the association defends that increasing the maximum exemption in food vouchers would benefit the recovery of the restaurant sector, would help cushion the loss of purchasing power of workers, in addition to increasing tax collection.

The amount of restaurant tickets is limited to 11 euros per day. It is a tax benefit that, as explained by the president of Treasury technicians, Carlos Cruzado, "derives from the exemption from payment in spices that working canteens entail." An exemption that is extended to indirect formulas, such as vouchers or restaurant checks, which the worker can use in catering establishments.

In addition to the limit of 11 euros per day, there are two more conditions that users must meet to benefit from the measure for tax purposes: that the menu is purchased on business days for the employee and that the provision of the service does not occur during days in which the copper worker of the company maintenance allowances. Another relevant aspect to take into account is that the ticket is non-transferable and cannot be accumulated if it is not consumed one day. "As a result of the pandemic, there is a novelty in terms of restaurant tickets: their use is allowed in cases in which food is collected at the store and it can also be received at home if you work remotely," adds Cruzado.

As established by current labor legislation, payments in kind cannot exceed 30% of the worker's remuneration, nor can their collection imply a reduction in the full amount to be received in money from the interprofessional minimum wage of 1,000 euros per month.

Pursuant to the Personal Income Tax Law, different payments in kind may be incurred in addition to food vouchers, such as transportation, child care, medical insurance and training courses. The tax savings for taking advantage of this type of exemption will depend on each worker and personal circumstance. However, there are some simulators available on the internet that can help make this calculation. For example, in the case of a worker with a gross annual salary of 27,570 euros -the average salary in Spain- and two dependent minor children over the age of three who receive 4,140 euros in payment in kind, the maximum tax savings would amount to 1,211 euro per year.