Restaurant Vouchers and the Increase in Value Added Tax: What You Need to Know

• From January 1, 2024, the regular VAT rate of 19% will apply to restaurant vouchers.
• The reduced VAT rate of 7% for restaurant services was introduced in July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was extended until December 31, 2023.
• With the increase in VAT, restaurants may have to pass on the higher costs to customers, making dining out more expensive.
• The price of a meal that currently costs 15 euros with 7% VAT will increase to 17.85 euros with 19% VAT.
• The treatment of restaurant vouchers depends on whether they are single-purpose vouchers or multi-purpose vouchers.
• Single-purpose vouchers purchased before December 2023 will be taxed at the reduced rate of 7%, regardless of when they are redeemed.
• Multi-purpose vouchers that can be used for both food and drinks will be taxed at the new rate of 19% when redeemed from January 1, 2024.
• Vouchers issued after January 1, 2024, will be taxed at the standard rate of 19%.
• It may be beneficial to redeem multi-purpose vouchers before January 1, 2024, to take advantage of the lower VAT rate.

Source: nwb-experten-blog.de

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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