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Wages and thresholds

Germany meal and accommodation values 2026

API Meal and accommodation values as REST API, JSON and CSV, with the effective date for every payroll run.

For 2026, free meals count at €345 a month under the official values for benefits in kind (Sachbezugswerte, § 2 SvEV). A single meal counts at €2.37 for breakfast and €4.57 for lunch or dinner. Free accommodation counts at €285 a month.

Do not mix them up: vouchers and goods fall under the tax-free limit for benefits in kind. If the employer provides a meal on a business trip, the meal allowance is usually reduced instead of taxing the value of the meal.

Last checked against the sources on September 23, 2026. Next expected change: amending ordinance for 2027 in fall 2026.

REST /v1/hr/sachbezugswerteMCP hr_sachbezugswerteCLI qk sachbezugswerte

The official values for benefits in kind (Sachbezugswerte) under § 2 of the Social Insurance Remuneration Ordinance (SvEV) for meals and accommodation, per month, per calendar day and per meal. They apply for tax and social security when employees receive meals or accommodation.

Values 2026
Meals per month
€345
Breakfast per day
€2.37
Accommodation per month
€285
Source
§ 2 Social Insurance Remuneration Ordinance (Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung) and yearly amending ordinances
License
Values from official works (§ 5 UrhG). Use of the compilation under the Quellenkontor terms of use.
Updates
yearly on January 1
Coverage
Germany, from 2015

A value doesn't match the official source? Report an error. We check against the primary source and document every correction in the changelog.

Related solutions: For payroll software and payroll providers

api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/sachbezugswerte?jahr=2026
Zur API-Doku →
curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/sachbezugswerte?jahr=2026" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY"
Antwort200 OK · JSON
{
  "datensatz": "sachbezugswerte",
  "jahr": 2026,
  "gueltig_ab": "2026-01-01",
  "gueltig_bis": "2026-12-31",
  "verpflegung_monat": 345,
  "fruehstueck_monat": 71,
  "mittagessen_monat": 137,
  "abendessen_monat": 137,
  "fruehstueck_tag": 2.37,
  "mittag_abend_tag": 4.57,
  "unterkunft_monat": 285,
  "unterkunft_tag": 9.5,
  "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 2 SvEV in der Fassung ab 01.01.2026",
  "quelle": {
    "titel": "Sechzehnte Verordnung zur Änderung der Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung vom 19. Dezember 2025 (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 377)",
    "url": "https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2025/377/VO.html"
  },
  "hinweise": [
    "Allgemeine Werte für Beschäftigte. Abschläge für Jugendliche, Auszubildende und Mehrbettzimmer nach § 2 Abs. 3 SvEV sind nicht eingerechnet."
  ],
  "lizenz": "Werte aus amtlichen Werken (§ 5 UrhG). Nutzung der Zusammenstellung nach den Nutzungsbedingungen von Quellenkontor.",
  "stand": "2026-09-23",
  "zitat": "Sachbezugswerte 2026: Verpflegung 345 Euro im Monat, Frühstück 2,37 Euro und Mittag- oder Abendessen 4,57 Euro je Kalendertag, Unterkunft 285 Euro im Monat. Rechtsgrundlage: § 2 SvEV in der Fassung ab 01.01.2026. Quelle: Sechzehnte Verordnung zur Änderung der Sozialversicherungsentgeltverordnung vom 19. Dezember 2025 (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 377), https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2025/377/VO.html. Daten: Quellenkontor (quellenkontor.dev).",
  "datenstand": "2026-09-23.1"
}

Response shortened. All parameters and response fields are in the Meal and lodging values reference.

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Meal and accommodation values since 2015

Legal citations stay in German, exactly as they appear in the official sources.

YearMeals per monthBreakfast per dayLunch or dinner per dayAccommodation per monthSource
2026€345€2.37€4.57€285Source
2025€333€2.30€4.40€282Source
2024€313€2.17€4.13€278Source
2023€288€2.00€3.80€265Source
2022€270€1.87€3.57€241Source
2021€263€1.83€3.47€237Source
2020€258€1.80€3.40€235Source
2019€251€1.77€3.30€231Source
2018€246€1.73€3.23€226Source
2017€241€1.70€3.17€223Source
2016€236€1.67€3.10€223Source
2015€229€1.63€3.00€223Source

As JSON and CSV

Every request returns JSON. The history since 2015 is also available as a CSV file with format=csv, and with trennzeichen=semikolon it fits Excel with German regional settings. More in Responses and CSV.

Terminal
curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/sachbezugswerte/verlauf?format=csv&trennzeichen=semikolon" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY" -o sachbezugswerte.csv

Parameters

ParametersTypeMeaning
jahryearyearCalendar year. Defaults to the current year.
datumdatedateAlternative to jahr: effective date in the format YYYY-MM-DD, the year is taken from it.

All response fields with types, allowed values, defaults and error cases are in the Meal and lodging values reference.

Questions about this dataset

What is the official value of a lunch in 2026?

€4.57 per meal, and €2.37 for a breakfast.

What is the official value of free accommodation in 2026?

€285 a month for free accommodation, €9.50 per calendar day.

Do the values apply for tax and social security?

Yes. The SvEV values apply for social security and, through § 8 Abs. 2 EStG, also for wage tax.

How often is the dataset updated?

Yearly on January 1. We check the data against the official sources every week, and every change is logged in the changelog. On the Pro plan, a webhook notifies your server.

More on Meal and lodging values

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