Does your employer offer you the meal allowance as salary conversion?

Great, then you'll benefit from a higher net salary with every meal voucher you submit. Your employer can grant you a digital meal allowance of €7.67 (before January 1, 2026: €7.50) a maximum of 15 times per month with Probonio.

Depending on the configuration, you must submit a receipt for at least €12.24 (before January 1, 2026: €11.90) in order to receive the full €7.67 (before January 1, 2026: €7.50) (personal contribution of €4.57). The potential reimbursement amount will be displayed after you upload the receipt.

In the following month, the number of times you used the digital meal allowance in the previous month will be evaluated. The amount of the meal allowance used is converted into net salary.

How does salary conversion work?

With salary conversion, part of your gross salary is converted into net salary in the pay slip. This means that taxable income is converted into tax-free income.

Advantages of deferred compensation?

Salary conversion saves the employee income tax and social security contributions. The actual net benefit (i.e. how much net salary is received through the conversion) is heavily dependent on the gross salary and other details relevant to income tax (e.g. tax class) of the employee in question.

Let's look at the following example case: €3,500 gross salary per month, left the church, Bavaria, no children, tax class 1:

As of 2024:

With 15 redeemed meal vouchers of €7.23 each, we convert €108.45 from your gross salary to net salary. If the meal allowance is fully utilized and the full €108.45 is converted, the example employee receives: €47.25 more net salary per month

Further examples (as of July 2024):

Gross salary €2,000 → Net benefit: €42.59

Gross salary €2,500 → Net benefit: €44.01

Gross salary €4,000 → Net benefit: €48.83

Gross salary €5,000 → Net benefit: €51.92

What does this look like on the payslip?

You will find two or three additional pay items on your payslip: one or two pay items for the tax-free meal allowance and one pay item for the salary conversion.

The amount of the meal allowance is identical to the amount of the salary conversion. This means that the same amount of salary is converted as you receive as a meal allowance.

To illustrate this, you will find sample statements here - one with a meal allowance and one without.A direct comparison clearly shows the net benefit.

What happens if I don't submit any receipts for a month?

You will receive your salary in exactly the same way as before: you will not receive a tax-free meal allowance and no salary will be converted. Unfortunately, the net benefit for the month in question will be forfeited and cannot be saved for future months.

This means that you always retain complete control over how much salary you want to convert.

What are the costs for Probonio?

The use of Probonio is free of charge for employees. Your employer pays the costs for the software license and the necessary document check.

Does salary conversion have any disadvantages for me?

Salary conversion means you pay less tax and fewer social security contributions, which results in a net benefit. The lower social security contributions also lead to lower benefits in some cases: For example, the statutory pension is slightly lower. Normally, the financial advantage clearly outweighs the disadvantages, especially because a large part of the benefits from taxes and social insurance are independent of the contribution. Particularly in view of the reduced payment into the pension, it is worth considering saving part of the net benefit privately or finding out about occupational pension provision.

Translation Note: This article has been translated using automatic translation software to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the content. Despite reasonable efforts to provide an accurate translation, we cannot guarantee its accuracy.

If there are any questions regarding the accuracy of the information in the translated article, please refer to the German version of the article, which is the official version.