2026 values
The Finnish Tax Administration confirms the values of fringe benefits annually. According to the 2026 decision (VH/6275/00.01.00/2025, issued 13.11.2025), a lunch voucher or a meal benefit loaded onto a card or mobile is valued at 75 % of the face value, but at least 8,80 euros, when the face value is at most 14,00 €. If the face value is over 14,00 €, the benefit is taxed on its full face value.
The value of a meal arranged by the employer or served in a staff restaurant is €8.80 when the employer's direct costs including VAT are €8.80–14.00. If the costs fall outside this range, the value is the amount of the actual costs.
- maximum value of the lunch benefit under the 75 % rule: 14,00 € per working day
- taxable value at least: 8,80 €
- value of a meal at a staff restaurant, as a rule: 8,80 €
- meal for hotel and restaurant sector staff: 7,48 €
- meal for hospital and similar institution staff: 6,60 €
Invoice examples
When the lunch benefit is €14.00, its taxable value is 75 %, i.e. €10.50. If the benefit is €11.00, 75 % would be €8.25, but because the taxable value is always at least €8.80, €8.80 is taxed.
Often the employee pays the taxable value from their net pay. When the employee's payment is at least the taxable value of the benefit, no taxable benefit arises. For a benefit of €14.00, the employee therefore pays €10.50 and the employer's share is €3.50 per working day. If the employee pays less, the difference is taxable pay, on which the employer's health insurance contribution is also paid.
According to the Finnish Tax Administration, a taxable meal benefit is wages. The employer pays the health insurance contribution on it, and the employee pays the medical care and daily allowance contribution. That is why most employers collect the taxable value from net pay: the benefit is then favourable to the employee, who gets a 14,00 euro lunch for 10,50 euros, and no taxable addition arises on the wages.
Where the lunch benefit can be used
The 75% rule applies when the payment method can be used only for meals and meal delivery. According to the Finnish Tax Administration's guidance, the benefit is intended for one meal per domestic working day. Benefits given for holidays and other days off are valued at face value.
With a lunch benefit you can pay for a restaurant meal, a restaurant meal delivered to your home or workplace, and a ready take-away meal from a shop, such as a salad from the service counter. You cannot use it to pay for industrially produced ready meals, convenience foods or drinks alone.
According to Edenred, paper Lounari and Virike vouchers are valid as a means of payment until the end of 2026. If you still have paper lunch vouchers, use them by 31.12.2026 at the latest. In future the benefit will be provided on a card or in a mobile app, so you can see the balance and expiry dates in the app.
How much lunch costs
No official nationwide lunch price statistics are published. The median price calculated from lunch menus on the Lounasaika.fi service in Helsinki in October 2026 was €13.50, based on data from 171 restaurants. The cheapest lunch was €5.00 and the most expensive €49.00. By restaurant type, the median ranged from about €11.90 to €14.00.
The median is thus slightly below the 14,00 euro maximum benefit. If your lunch costs more than your benefit, you pay the difference yourself with another payment method. The lunch price includes 13,5 % VAT, which fell from 14 per cent on 1.1.2026.
Meal allowance on a business trip and the student lunch
The lunch benefit is not the same as a meal allowance for business travel. According to the Finnish Tax Administration's decision, the tax-free meal allowance in 2026 is at most 13,50 €, and if the employee has to eat twice during the trip, at most 27,00 €. A meal allowance can be paid only if no daily allowance is paid for the trip and the employee cannot eat at their usual place of eating because of work.
According to Kela, a university student's basic meal costs €3.10 from 1.1.2026, after Kela's €2.80 meal subsidy has been deducted. For special meals the student pays €4.50–5.90.
Employer's checklist
Check that the benefit has been loaded only for working days and that the maximum value matches the 2026 limit. The 2027 values will be confirmed in the Finnish Tax Administration's next decision, so update the payroll values at the turn of the year.
There is no right to deduct VAT on the purchase of lunch vouchers. If you instead offer a meal free of charge in your own or a purchased staff restaurant, an employer liable for VAT accounts for 13,5 % own-use tax on it. The detailed rules are in the Finnish Tax Administration's guidance on the VAT treatment of staff catering.
Find lunch with Lunch Radar
With Lunch Radar you can search for lunch places by town, address or your location and see the day's menus in one place. Compare the price with your own lunch benefit and choose a place where the value of the benefit covers the whole meal.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the lunch benefit in 2026?
Under the 75% rule, the benefit can be at most €14.00 per working day. Its taxable value is 75% of face value, but at least €8.80.
How much do I pay for a 14 euro lunch benefit?
The taxable value is 10,50 €. When you pay it from your net pay, no taxable benefit arises.
Can you buy food from a shop with the lunch benefit?
Only ready-made take-away meals, such as deli-counter salads. Convenience foods and drinks are not eligible.
When do paper lunch vouchers expire?
According to Edenred, paper Lounari vouchers are valid as a means of payment until 31.12.2026.
Calculate it yourself
- Lunch benefit calculator: how much does the lunch benefit cost you? · free
- Lunch benefit cost calculator for businesses · free
Ready-made tools
- Lunch restaurant margin and pricing calculator · Portion cost, margin %, pricing and daily sales tracking
- Shift schedule and hours calculator · Shifts for 15 employees, overnight hours, weekly limit warning and payroll cost
Sources
- Finnish Tax Administration: Decision on the calculation bases of fringe benefits applied in taxation for 2026 (VH/6275/00.01.00/2025)
- Finnish Tax Administration: Fringe benefits in taxation
- Finnish Tax Administration: On VAT on staff catering
- Finnish Tax Administration: VAT rates
- Lounasaika.fi: Lunch price in Helsinki
- Edenred: Use of Lounari and Virike vouchers ends in 2026
- Finnish Tax Administration: Decision on tax-exempt reimbursements of travel costs in 2026
- Kela: Higher education students will pay more for a student meal in future (30.12.2025)
The article is general information and does not replace the guidance of an authority, a lawyer or an adviser. Check up-to-date information from the sources.