A meal voucher in Belgium is still worth at most € 10 in 2027: on 24 October 2026 no new increase of the maximum has been published. What does change is the wage norm. An increase of the employer contribution of at most € 2 only falls outside the wage norm if it is granted no later than 31 December 2026. If you still want to bring your meal vouchers up to the maximum, it is best to fix that this year.
Meal vouchers Belgium 2027: what changes and what does not
Since 1 January 2026 the employer contribution can be € 8.91. How that increase came about and what it costs you is in meal vouchers 10 euro. For 2027, this table puts the rules side by side.
| Rule | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum value per voucher | € 10 | € 10, no change published |
| Maximum employer contribution | € 8.91 | € 8.91 |
| Minimum employee contribution | € 1.09 | € 1.09 |
| Tax deduction per voucher | € 4 at the maximum, otherwise € 2 | unchanged |
| Increase up to € 2 outside the wage norm | yes, if granted between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026 | no |
| Wage norm | 0% for 2025-2026 | 2027-2028 not yet set |
The conditions for the exemption stay the same. Social security does not treat meal vouchers as pay if they meet all conditions at once: a collective agreement or, if none can be concluded, a written individual agreement; one voucher per day actually worked; an employer contribution of at most € 8.91; an employee contribution of at least € 1.09; and a voucher in the employee's name. The full rules and what you can deduct are in meal vouchers employer contribution.
Meal voucher increase 2027: why 31 December 2026 is the limit
The wage norm for 2025-2026 is 0%. Without an exception, any increase of the employer contribution in that period would clash with the norm. Parliament therefore passed an exception: the law of 19 November 2025, published in the Official Gazette on 15 December 2025, adds a ninth exception to article 10 of the wage norm law.
The exception is narrow:
- It covers an increase of the employer contribution of at most € 2.
- It is set in a collective or individual agreement.
- The employer contribution stays within the ceiling of € 8.91.
- The law applies to increases "granted between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026 inclusive".
An increase granted in 2027 no longer qualifies. It then counts as a rise in labour costs, within the 2027-2028 wage norm. That norm has not been set yet: the Central Economic Council first prepares a technical report, then the social partners negotiate an interprofessional agreement, and without an agreement the government can set the norm by royal decree. That is what happened for 2025-2026. How the wage norm works in 2027 and what you may give on top of indexation is in salary increase Belgium 2027.
Decision guide: do you still need to act in 2026?
| Your situation | What you do |
|---|---|
| You already give an employer contribution of € 8.91 | Nothing. You are at the maximum. |
| Your sector requires an increase | Follow the sector agreement: the date and amount are in it. |
| You want to go to the maximum, without a sector obligation | Set the increase in a company agreement or individual agreements and let it start in 2026. |
| You give eco-vouchers and want to replace them | Convert them into a higher employer contribution, see below. |
| You do not give meal vouchers yet | Introducing them in 2027 counts towards the wage norm. If you would rather fall under the exception, talk to your social bureau before the end of 2026. |
| You are unsure how it fits with your cafeteria plan | Meal vouchers that replace pay are always pay; read cafeteria plan first. |
The word "granted" is not defined further in the law. An increase agreed in December 2026 but only starting in March 2027 is therefore a grey area. To be safe, have the first increased voucher credited in 2026.
12 euro meal vouchers?
A 12 euro voucher does not exist as an exempt benefit for a private-sector employee. The maximum is a sum: an employer contribution of at most € 8.91 and an employee contribution of at least € 1.09, together € 10. According to social security, meal vouchers with a higher employer contribution are pay. You then pay social security on the whole employer contribution, the benefit is taxable for the employee, and the advantage over an ordinary pay rise is gone.
If you see reports about 12 euro meal vouchers, check who they apply to. A scheme of a public authority for its own staff does not change the social security rules for your company.
Meal vouchers by sector in 2026 and 2027
Several joint committees used the room of 2026 in their agreements. What is fixed for our clients' sectors:
| Joint committee | Rule | From |
|---|---|---|
| JC 124 construction | Meal vouchers mandatory, replacing eco-vouchers; employer contribution € 2 | mandatory from 1 April 2026, this amount from 1 July 2026 |
| JC 119 food trade | Increase or introduction of the employer contribution by € 1.50, not below 20 blue-collar workers | 1 April 2026 |
| JSC 149.01 electricians | Choice per company: € 2 more and no eco-vouchers, or € 1 more and eco-vouchers stay | choice by 30 September 2026, increase from 1 October 2026 |
| JC 121 cleaning | Employer contribution of € 2 | 2026 |
| JC 226 employees in trade, transport and logistics | Mandatory increase or introduction of € 1 since 2016 | 2016 |
The sector agreement binds every employer in the committee. According to social security, an individual agreement may not exceed the highest amount granted by collective agreement in the same company. To find your staff's committee, see find your joint committee. The full sector rules are in the guides on JC 124, JC 119, JC 121 and JC 226.
Worked example: from 8 to 10 euros, in 2026 or in 2027
Worked example: an employee with 220 days worked
An SME gives a white-collar employee 220 meal vouchers a year. The company pays 25% corporate tax.
| € 8 voucher | € 10 voucher | |
|---|---|---|
| Employer contribution per voucher | € 6.91 | € 8.91 |
| Cost per year | € 1,520.20 | € 1,960.20 |
| Tax deductible | 220 x € 2 = € 440 | 220 x € 4 = € 880 |
| Tax saving | € 110 | € 220 |
| Net cost per year | € 1,410.20 | € 1,740.20 |
Moving to the maximum costs € 330 net a year, for € 440 more net on the employee's meal voucher account.
If you grant that increase in 2026, it does not count towards the wage norm. If you do it in 2027, the extra € 440 per employee per year is a rise in labour costs that has to fit within the 2027-2028 norm.
The same net purchasing power as a gross pay rise is compared in the guide meal vouchers employer contribution; what a gross rise yields net can be calculated with the gross-net calculator.
Eco-vouchers and meal vouchers in 2027
Eco-vouchers have not been abolished nationally. The maximum remains € 250 per employee per calendar year, and an obligation to give them comes from a sector agreement, a company agreement or an individual agreement. The situation per committee is in eco-vouchers abolished in 2026?.
You may, however, replace eco-vouchers with meal vouchers. Social security accepts meal vouchers replacing eco-vouchers, if all meal voucher conditions are met. If a meal voucher replaces pay, a bonus or a benefit in kind, it is always pay. In construction the conversion happened at sector level: eco-vouchers ended after 31 March 2026.
Mistakes with meal vouchers at the turn of the year
- Letting the increase start only in January because payroll is being adjusted then anyway. It then falls outside the exception of the law of 19 November 2025.
- Raising only new employees. Individual agreements must be consistent for the whole group; also remember future hires.
- Setting the employer contribution above € 8.91 to absorb a sector amount or a former bonus. The whole voucher then becomes pay.
- Cutting a bonus or pay rise and moving its value into vouchers. Only eco-vouchers may be converted.
- Giving vouchers for days without work, such as holidays or sickness. The number follows the days actually worked.
- Booking the tax deduction wrongly. The deduction of € 4 per voucher only applies if the employer contribution reaches the maximum; below that it stays € 2.
What you arrange before 31 December 2026
- Check your current employer contribution, per group of employees. If you are already at € 8.91, nothing to do.
- Read your sector agreement. If it requires an increase, follow it; an individual agreement may not exceed the highest collective agreement amount in the company.
- Decide whether you still raise under the exception. With a union delegation you conclude a company agreement; without one, a written addendum to each individual agreement.
- Let the increase start in 2026 and pass the new face value on to the voucher issuer.
- Adjust payroll: employer contribution, deduction of at least € 1.09 from the employee and the number of vouchers per day worked. What appears on the payslip is in gross to net.
- Do not replace pay or a bonus with vouchers. Only eco-vouchers may be converted.
Are meal vouchers actually mandatory? Only if your sector or your own agreement requires them; the short answer is at are meal vouchers mandatory?. Everything that changes for employers on 1 January 2027 is brought together in what changes in 2027. Other fringe benefits: the mobility budget and the flat-rate expense allowance.
What Business Centrum does for you
Business Centrum checks what your sector agreement requires, works out what the step to € 10 costs your company net in a staff analysis, and drafts the addenda or the agreement text so the increase is granted before 31 December 2026. We then process the new amount from the right month in your payroll, together with Acerta. Unsure whether to raise? Have it checked.