Lunch near you.

The taxable value of a lunch voucher or of a lunch benefit loaded on a card or mobile is 75 % of the value of the benefit, but at least 8,80 €. For example, for a 14,00 € benefit the taxable value is 10,50 €. The employer often deducts this amount from the net pay, in which case no taxable benefit arises (Finnish Tax Administration).

14,00 € per working day (13,70 € in 2025). The lowest value at which the 75 per cent rule applies is 8,80 €. If lunch costs more than your benefit, you pay the difference yourself (Finnish Tax Administration decision VH/6275/00.01.00/2025).

The median price calculated from Lounasaika.fi lunch menus on 6.10.2026 was 13,50 € in Helsinki and Tampere, 13,60 € in Oulu, 12,00 € in Turku and 11,35 € in Kuopio. No official nationwide lunch price index has been published; according to Statistics Finland's price index, restaurant and catering prices rose by 1,9 % year on year in August 2026.

Yes. The VAT on restaurant and catering services fell from 14 per cent to 13.5 per cent from 1.1.2026. The VAT on serving alcoholic drinks is still 25.5%. A half-percentage-point cut corresponds to about 6 cents on a €13.50 lunch, if it passes fully into the price (Finnish Tax Administration).

When the employee pays the taxable value of the benefit (75 %, at least €8.80) from their net pay, the employer's share of a €14.00 benefit is at most €3.50 per working day. If the employee pays at least the taxable value, according to the Tax Administration no taxable benefit arises.

According to the Finnish Tax Administration, a taxable meal benefit is wages, so the employer pays the health insurance contribution on its value and the employee pays the medical care and daily allowance contribution. If the employee pays at least the taxable value of the benefit themselves, no taxable benefit arises. Check the treatment of other payroll side costs with payroll or the pension insurance company.

A restaurant must disclose all substances causing allergies and intolerances used in preparing the food (14 groups, EU Regulation 1169/2011). The information may be given orally if it is clearly announced near the food, for example on a board or leaflet (Finnish Food Authority).

The latest Oiva report must be displayed at the entrance or in another easily noticeable place and on the website (Finnish Food Authority). The price list for services must be displayed on the premises and on the website, if possible also visible from outside, and prices are stated as total prices including taxes (FCCPA, Price Marking Decree 553/2013).

Yes, provided the payment instrument can be used only for meals and their delivery. According to the Finnish Tax Administration's guidance, the 75 per cent taxable value applies when the benefit can be used solely for meals and the costs of delivering a meal, for example home delivery. One meal per working day.

Only ready-made take-away meals that are ready to eat as they are, such as deli-counter salads, filled baguettes and hot dishes prepared by the shop itself. Industrially made ready meals, convenience foods and drinks cannot be paid for with a lunch benefit (Finnish Tax Administration, Fringe benefits in taxation).

From 1.1.2026, a university student pays at most €3.10 (previously €2.95) for a basic meal after Kela's €2.80 meal subsidy has been deducted. The price of special meals for a student is €4.50–5.90 (Kela 30.12.2025).

In 2026 the value of a meal arranged by the employer is €8.80 if the employer's direct costs are €8.80–14.00. If the costs are below €8.80 or exceed €14.00, the value is the amount of the costs. For hospital, school and daycare staff the value is €6.60, and for hotel and restaurant staff €7.48 (Finnish Tax Administration decision VH/6275/00.01.00/2025).

When a VAT-liable employer provides a meal free of charge, 13.5 % self-supply tax is payable on it. For a purchased meal the tax base is the purchase price; for a self-produced one, the direct costs plus 22 % for indirect costs. There is no right to deduct VAT on the purchase of lunch vouchers, and no tax is payable on giving them to the employee (Finnish Tax Administration 8.1.2026, KHO 2025:46).

In the Natural Resources Institute Finland's measurement in 2018–2019, 15,9 % of the food prepared in catering services went uneaten, or on average 89 g per customer. Most of it was serving waste (9,1 %). Nationwide, food waste in catering services was about 61 million kilograms a year (Luke, study 1/2020).