What should you remember from 1 January 2026?
From 1 January 2026, you can grant a meal voucher with a maximum value of 10 euros, with a maximum employer contribution of 8.91 euros and a minimum employee contribution of 1.09 euro.
This increase is official, but it does not automatically apply in all companies. As an employer, you must always check the legal basis that supports the granting or adjustment of your meal vouchers.
The issue today is therefore no longer whether meal vouchers can reach 10 euros, but whether you can still retroactively correct the meal vouchers already granted during the first quarter of 2026.
Can you still adjust your meal vouchers for the first quarter of 2026?
The increase to 10 euros is not automatic in your company. The granting or adjustment of meal vouchers must be based on a sectoral CBA, a company CBA or, in some cases, a written individual agreement.
The NOSS now reminds that a regularisation remains possible for the first quarter of 2026 until 30 April 2026 at the latest.
As an employer, you must therefore not only check the new ceiling of ten euros. You must above all verify whether your applicable legal basis still allows a retroactive correction within the deadline.
In which cases is a retroactive increase allowed?
According to the NOSS, you can retroactively increase the employer's share of your meal vouchers when a sectoral or company CBA is concluded with retroactive effect and provides for this increase from an earlier date (e.g. 1st January 2026).
In other words, if you credited too little for January, February or March because the applicable framework was not yet finalised or known at the time of crediting, you can still correct the situation, provided you respect the regularisation deadline.
How to regularise correctly without losing the exemption?
For your regularisation to be valid, you must strictly comply with the conditions of the NOSS.
Via electronic meal vouchers
The correction can only be made by a supplementary payment to the employee's electronic meal voucher account. If you pay the difference in cash, this difference remains subject to social security contributions.
Respect a strict deadline
For meal vouchers related to the first quarter of 2026, this supplementary payment must be made no later than 30 April 2026. By this date, you must have reconciled the number of meal vouchers granted and the amount of your employer contribution to match the scheme applicable in your company.
Your checklist before regularisation
Before proceeding with the regularisation, take a few minutes to check these essential points:
- Check whether an applicable sectoral or company CBA indeed provides for a retroactive increase
- Compare the credits already made in January, February and March with the amount actually due
- Request a supplementary payment to the electronic meal voucher account, never in cash
- Verify that the number of meal vouchers and the total employer share are correct at the time of regularisation
- Complete the operation before the deadline of 30 April 2026
In which sectors is the increase already planned or introduced?
At the sectoral level, several 2025-2026 agreements already contain provisions relating to meal vouchers, whether it concerns an increase or an introduction. We monitor these agreements by joint committee and update them regularly.
As of 1 April 2026, agreements containing provisions on meal vouchers have already been concluded in several sectors, for example JCs 107, 109, 110, 116, 118, 121, 124, 140.03, 149.01, 207, 220, 315.02, 321, 333 and 339.200.
This does not mean that all companies in these sectors must apply exactly the same increase, nor that the effective date is identical everywhere. You must therefore check what has been decided in your joint committee, as well as the precise arrangements provided for in the applicable CBA.
This overview is not exhaustive. If you have any doubts, check directly your joint committee on Lex4You.
Also read: “Sectoral agreements 2025-2026: where do we stand?”
What does Securex do for you?
We help you prepare the company CBA or the appropriate individual amendment if an adjustment is necessary.
For any further information or additional questions, do not hesitate to contact your Legal Advisor by e-mail at myHR@securex.be.
You can already consult our Lex4You news item: Can you already increase the amount of meal vouchers to 10 euros?
