€50 a month, €60 per occasion: the two limits for employee gifts in Germany
A benefit in kind is free of wage tax and social security in Germany when the month's benefits together do not exceed €50, and a gift for a personal occasion such as a birthday or a wedding is a courtesy (Aufmerksamkeit) up to €60. Both are limits, not allowances. Above them the employer can pay a flat 30% under section 37b. Cash never qualifies. Every figure below links to the statute or the guideline.
How German wage tax treats gifts to employees
The €50 monthly limit. Under section 8(2) sentence 11 of the Income Tax Act benefits in kind stay untaxed when, taken together, they do not exceed €50 in the calendar month. It is a Freigrenze: at €50.01 the whole amount is wages. A voucher or prepaid card counts as a benefit in kind only if it can be used solely for goods or services and meets the criteria of section 2(1) no. 10 of the Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG); amounts earmarked in money, reimbursements and other money substitutes are cash and always taxable. The benefit must also be given in addition to the salary already owed, which section 8(4) defines with four conditions, including that it does not replace an agreed pay rise.
The €60 courtesy. The wage tax guidelines treat a gift in kind worth up to €60, given to an employee or a member of their household for a special personal occasion, such as flowers or a book for a birthday or a wedding, as an Aufmerksamkeit that is not wages at all (R 19.6 LStR). The €60 includes VAT and applies per occasion. The guideline adds that gifts of money are always wages, however small. Because an Aufmerksamkeit is not wages, it stands apart from the €50 monthly limit.
Above the limits. For a larger non-cash gift given in addition to salary, the employer may elect to pay a flat 30% wage tax on the cost including VAT under section 37b, plus solidarity surcharge and church tax where they apply. The employer bears this tax, the gift is left out of the employee's taxable income, and the employee must be told. The option is not available for gifts costing more than €10,000 per person per year or per single gift, it is exercised uniformly for the year, and the tax is declared in the wage tax return and paid by the tenth day after the period. Social security contributions are a separate question for payroll.
Events, records and 2026. A company event has its own allowance of €110 per participating employee, for up to two events a year open to everyone; gifts of up to €60 handed out at the event count towards it. Payroll keeps the value, date and occasion of each gift with the wage records. No figure on this page changed for 2026, and the wage tax guideline amendments for 2027 leave the €50 and €60 amounts untouched.
This is general information as of 2026, not tax advice. Your Steuerberater and payroll provider decide how each gift is treated.
Three gifts, three payroll treatments
The same employee, one year, three decisions.
A €45 voucher in a month with no other benefit in kind
Within the €50 monthly limit if the voucher is good only for goods or services, meets the ZAG criteria and is given on top of salary. Nothing is taxed. A second €10 voucher in the same month would take the total to €55 and make all of it wages.
A €55 gift for a birthday
A gift in kind for a personal occasion up to €60 is an Aufmerksamkeit, not wages. It does not use the €50 monthly limit. The same €55 as a cash bonus would be fully taxable.
A €300 award for ten years of service
Above both limits. The employer can pay a flat 30% under section 37b, €90 plus surcharges where they apply, and the employee receives the full €300 without a deduction. Payroll records the value, the date and the election for the year.
What Mojo Gift gives German payroll
The value, the date and the occasion, on every gift.
Value including VAT, date and occasion per gift
Every Mojo Moment is logged with recipient, value, occasion and delivery date, and the year exports in one file for the wage records or the section 37b calculation.
Non-cash by design
The recipient chooses an experience or a product, never cash, and the amount is never shown to them. Your Steuerberater decides how the gift is classified under section 8.
Values set to the €50 and €60 lines
Occasion values are agreed at setup: courtesies at or under €60, monthly benefits planned against the €50 limit, larger awards planned for section 37b from the start.
One programme, 190 countries
Colleagues outside Germany get the same programme, with the record their own country's payroll needs.
Built for the finance question
A programme that answers the payroll query before it is asked.
A record payroll can use
Values that respect the limits
No expiry
A human concierge
German employee gift tax, answered
Is the €50 an allowance or a limit?
A limit (Freigrenze). All benefits in kind in a calendar month are added together; if the total does not exceed €50 nothing is taxed, and if it reaches €50.01 the whole amount is wages, not just the excess.
Are gift cards tax free in Germany?
Only when the card can be used solely for goods or services, meets the criteria of section 2(1) no. 10 ZAG and is given in addition to the salary owed. A card that can be loaded with cash, used to withdraw money or to transfer it is treated as cash and is taxable in full.
Can we give a €50 voucher and a €60 birthday gift in the same month?
The €60 gift for a personal occasion is an Aufmerksamkeit and is not wages, so it does not count towards the €50 monthly limit. The voucher is judged against the €50 limit on its own. Gifts of money never qualify under either rule.
What is section 37b and when is it used?
It lets the employer pay a flat 30% wage tax, plus solidarity surcharge and church tax where due, on non-cash gifts given on top of salary, so the employee receives the gift without a deduction. It cannot be used for gifts costing more than €10,000 per person per year, the choice applies to all such gifts in the year, and the employee must be informed.
Did anything change for 2026?
No. The €50 monthly limit, the €60 courtesy, the 30% flat rate and the €110 event allowance are unchanged, and the wage tax guideline amendments announced for 2027 do not touch these amounts.
What does Mojo Gift cost, and does it decide whether a gift is taxable?
€25 per Mojo Moment per year, from 50 Moments (€1,250 a year), £25 for UK-billed programmes, invoiced in EUR, GBP or USD; gift value is funded on top at face value. One-off campaigns are €6,250 per 250 Moments. Mojo Gift does not decide the tax treatment: each gift carries its recipient, value, occasion, country and date, and your payroll provider or accountant applies the rule.
Set the gift values to the €50 and €60 lines
Book a 30-minute call. We map your occasions to the German limits with payroll in mind and show the record each gift carries.
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