Buoni Pasto, or meal vouchers, are a widely recognized employee benefit in Italy. These vouchers can be used at local restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, and even for online food deliveries. But their appeal goes far beyond convenience—they also offer substantial fiscal advantages for employees and employers.
What Are Buoni Pasto, and How Do They Work?
In Italy, companies with more than 20 employees are required by law to provide a facility where workers can have lunch free of charge. However, many businesses opt for a simpler, more flexible alternative: Buoni Pasto. These meal vouchers are provided for every day employees are physically present at work, excluding days spent on leave or working remotely.
How much money are you saving using buoni pasto instead of getting paid directly? A Buono Pasto in Italy is a food voucher with a fixed monetary value, usually in the range of €4-€9, depending on the policies of the company. Companies, instead of maintaining an in-house cafeteria, allow their employees to buy meals from nearby restaurants or groceries with these kinds of vouchers.
Here’s how they work:
- If the meal cost exceeds the voucher’s value, you pay the difference in cash.
- If the bill is less than the voucher value, some restaurants issue a handwritten note with the remaining balance, although this practice is not compelled by law.
- Not all vendors take all types of vouchers, so it’s essential to ensure the vendor is part of the voucher’s network. Most of them have logos on their doors or windows to show that they’re accepting payments via vouchers.
But let’s not forget that even those supermarkets that accept Buoni Pasto, for example, are limited to foodstuffs. That is, you cannot buy toothpaste or a set of towels with them.
Can I Use Buoni Pasto Online?
Sure enough. With the rise of digitalization, Italy has made Buoni Pasto available as rechargeable debit cards, offering even more convenience. These digital vouchers are widely accepted, eliminating the need for physical tickets and making it easier for employees to manage their lunch breaks or grocery shopping.
Fiscal Advantages
One of the most attractive features of Buoni Pasto is its fiscal efficiency.
First of all, meal vouchers are exempt from personal income tax and social security contributions up to €8 per voucher. This means employees can enjoy tax-free meals, significantly enhancing their take-home benefits.
But what’s more, these vouchers are fully deductible from corporate income and come with a reduced VAT rate of 4%, further lowering business costs.
This makes Buoni Pasto an appealing option for businesses looking to offer meaningful perks without incurring high expenses.
Who Is Eligible, and Can You Use Them Daily?
While Buoni Pasto is not mandatory for smaller businesses, many employers include them as part of their corporate welfare programs to enhance employee satisfaction. Typically, vouchers are issued only for days employees work on-site and are not provided for remote work or leave days.
With proper use, these vouchers can be a reliable daily benefit for purchasing meals or groceries. However, it’s crucial to ensure the establishment accepts the specific type of voucher your company provides, as not all vendors participate in every network.
Is this Benefit Project Ongoing?
In short, yes! Buoni Pasto is currently becoming a common practice among businesses in Italy. For an employer, offering these meal tickets is a very straightforward, not-too-expensive means of showing your appreciation to the workforce, and making a difference that can be felt in employees’ lives it taking out colleagues for lunch or buying groceries for the family.
For employees, however, the convenience is on the spot. They get a voucher applicable to various locations, facilitating their lunch breaks and/or groceries. With digital cards, they avoid the headaches of carrying tickets of every kind.
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