Canteen allowance on construction sites: exemption up to 5.29 euros per day

Tax and social security exemption

The legislation (article 51, paragraph 2, letter c, Consolidated Law on Income Taxes – TUIR approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of 22 December 1986, number 917) recognizes an exemption from the calculation of contributions and taxes for allowances in lieu of meals provided in the paycheck.

However, the tax contribution relief is not recognized for all employees but rather for the following categories:

• Workers on construction sites and other temporary work structures;
• Employees of production units other than the previous ones if these production units are located in areas where there is a lack of catering facilities or services.

Exemption subject to an amount limit

The relief provided by the TUIR for workers on construction sites is not absolute but subject to an amount limit.

Specifically, canteen allowances paid in the pay slip up to the threshold of 5.29 euros for each working day are exempt.

Any excess over the threshold described is to be subject to:

• Social security and welfare contributions paid by the company and the employee;
• Tax withholdings for IRPEF and additional regional and municipal taxes.

Pay attention to the presence of other forms of food administration

The benefit survives if not accompanied by other interventions for the provision of food by the employer.

If the latter, in addition to paying the substitutive allowance, also provided the meal through an own service or one managed by a third party or an agreement with a restaurant, the entire value of the compensation sum would be subject to the calculation of contributions and taxes.

It is useful to summarize in the table the other forms of food administration available to companies:

• A) Supply of food by the employer, such as meals consumed by chefs and waiters in restaurants;
• B) Administration of meals in canteens organized directly by the company or managed by third parties;
• C) Canteen replacement services, such as granting employees paper or electronic restaurant tickets.

While hypotheses A) and B) are exempt from contributions and taxes, for canteen replacement services the exclusion operates up to the total daily amount, net of contributions and sums paid by the workers, of:

• 4.00 euros for a paper meal voucher;
• 10.00 euros if the meal voucher is electronic.

Any excess contributes to forming the taxable income for contribution and tax purposes.

Canteen allowance and night shift allowance

With the recent Ordinance number 24919 of 2 September 2026, the Court of Cassation ruled on the nature and right of workers to the canteen allowance.

According to the orientation of the Supreme Court, the attribution of the meal voucher (and, by analogy, of the canteen allowance) is “a welfare benefit which, within the organization of the work environment, is aimed at reconciling the needs of the service with the daily needs of the employee, in order to guarantee the physical well-being necessary to continue working”.

The right to canteen service or the related substitutive allowance is granted to the worker who works for at least 6 consecutive hours, even if employed on a shift regime and during night shifts.

The Ermellini also reject the theory that the specific allowance enjoyed by employees on night shifts “is functional to compensate not only for the greater burden of work during those hours, but also for the normal absence, during the night period, of the availability of services ordinarily provided during the daytime, including that of providing meals”.

Canteen allowance, what amount?

Beyond the contributory and fiscal effects linked to the canteen allowance (threshold of €5.29 per day), the amount due to the employee for this reason is directly defined by collective bargaining.

Therefore, if the sum due to the worker assigned to the construction site is higher than the legal threshold:

• 5.29 euros per day will be subject to tax relief and contribution reduction;
• The excess between 5.29 euros and the sum imposed by collective bargaining will contribute to the calculation of contributions and taxes.