In principle, gifts and vouchers granted by employers to their employees are subject to social security contributions and taxed as remuneration.
However, under strict conditions, the granting of gift vouchers can be exempted from social security contributions and taxes.
These are gift vouchers given on special occasions: St Nicholas’ Day, Christmas and New Year.
In order to benefit from the exemption, the total value of the gift vouchers granted for all these holidays must have a maximum value of 40EUR/year/worker. This amount can be split, for example 15EUR for Christmas and 25EUR for New Year.
In addition, this type of voucher can be granted to each dependent child of the worker. Thus an employee with 3 dependent children can receive up to 160 EUR/year in gift vouchers in one year.
Formal requirements must also be met:
- The employer must conclude an agreement with the cheque issuer;
- The cheques are valid for a maximum of 1 year;
- Gifts must be given entirely in the form of cheques and never in cash.
In addition to being fully exempt on the part of the employee, if the above conditions are met, gift vouchers are fully deductible on the part of the employer.
Please note that gift vouchers can be combined with sport & culture vouchers!
