Meals on the company

Written by Jakob Olund Kristensen · bookkeeper at Numina

Published August 31, 2026

A Danish company is free to pay for food — but the VAT and the employee's tax depend entirely on what kind of meal it is. Here are the seven situations you meet in practice.

Find the right situation

Follow the arrows from the top. The first yes settles it.

The VAT code is the one you book with; tax is the employee's. I25 gives a full VAT deduction, REP gives 25% of the VAT, and no code means no deduction. KAN25 gives a full deduction but triggers canteen VAT on the same amount, so the VAT nets out to zero. Situation 2 uses REP out of house and no code on your own premises. The asterisk means tax-free when the employee pays at least DKK 15/20 per meal.

The seven situations

Each card answers all of it: the VAT, the code you book with in Numina, the employee's tax — and the thing to remember.

1 · Fixed lunch scheme

A catering company delivers lunch. You pay the supplier, and the employees pay you a fixed amount per month.

VAT: Full deduction — but you settle canteen VAT on the same amount, so it nets out
VAT code: KAN25
Employee tax: Tax-free with an employee contribution

Tax-free when the employee pays at least DKK 15 per meal — DKK 20 with drinks. Pay less, and the rest is taxable.
The scheme has to be a standing one. Ordering ad hoc from changing suppliers is situation 7.

2 · Staff events

Christmas party, summer party, anniversary. The venue decides the VAT — and food a caterer delivers to your own premises still counts as in-house.

VAT: Out of house: 25% of the VATOn your own premises: nothing
VAT code: REPout of house · none on your own premises
Employee tax: Tax-free

Everything other than the food — venue hire, tables, linen, flowers — carries a full VAT deduction, including when the party is held in-house.

3 · Hotel stays on business trips

The room itself, for a client visit, a conference or a trade fair.

VAT: Full deduction on the accommodation
VAT code: I25
Employee tax: Tax-free

Always ask for an invoice that itemises the room and the breakfast separately — without the split, the whole VAT deduction is lost. The breakfast follows situation 4.
If the trip runs over 24 hours and the employee cannot sleep at home, you can instead pay a tax-free allowance: DKK 625/day for meals and DKK 268/day for lodging (2026).

4 · Restaurants with a business purpose

Lunch with a client, dinner on a trip, the breakfast on the hotel bill.

VAT: 25% of the VAT
VAT code: REP
Employee tax: Tax-free

Applies regardless of trip length — including a client lunch in the middle of the day. The 24 hours are only about the tax-free allowance, not about the VAT.
Only table service counts. Food you buy to take away and eat in the car is goods — situation 7.

5 · Meetings on your own premises, or unscheduled overtime

Sandwiches for the project meeting or the board meeting, and dinner when a deadline suddenly means people have to stay. The meeting must have professional content.

VAT: Full deduction
VAT code: I25
Employee tax: Tax-free

The coffee and fruit served at the meeting count too — unlike the pot that simply stands out all day (situation 6).

6 · Staff refreshments

The coffee, tea and fruit standing out in the office, and the birthday cake. Small things for the whole team — not meals.

VAT: No deduction
VAT code: None
Employee tax: Tax-free

The exact same coffee served during a professional meeting carries a full deduction — situation 5.

7 · Meals with no employee contribution

Takeaway ordered ad hoc, the standing Friday breakfast — and the sandwich from the petrol station on the way to the client meeting. Meals with no contribution, outside a meeting and outside an actual trip.

VAT: No deduction
VAT code: None
Employee tax: Taxed on the value

The expense is still deductible against corporation tax — only the VAT is blocked.
If you are self-employed, your own lunch is private consumption: no VAT deduction and no tax deduction.

Rates and sources

Rates and rules apply for 2026. Sources: section 42 of the Danish VAT Act, the Danish Tax Agency's legal guidance C.A.5.12.3 (canteen schemes), D.A.11.5.3 (staff meals) and D.A.11.5.7.2 (hotel and restaurant services), SKM2010.622.SKAT (catering at meetings), plus the 2026 rates for tax-free travel allowance.

This guide is meant as a quick overview and is not tax advice. If you are unsure about your specific arrangement — in particular whether it counts as a canteen scheme — run it past your accountant.

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Can we deduct the VAT on the Christmas party?

Only if you hold it out of house — then you can reclaim 25% of the VAT on the restaurant service (VAT code REP). Held on your own premises, there is no VAT deduction on the food, not even when a caterer delivers it. Venue hire, tables, linen and entertainment carry a full VAT deduction either way, and for tax the whole cost is a staff expense with a full deduction.

Is an employee taxed on food the company pays for?

As a rule, no. Staff events, meeting catering, coffee and fruit, and meals on business trips are all tax-free for the employee. It only becomes taxable when the company pays for ordinary meals with no employee contribution outside meetings and trips — a standing Friday breakfast, say, or takeaway ordered ad hoc. A fixed lunch scheme is tax-free when the employee pays at least DKK 15 per meal, DKK 20 with drinks.

Does the sandwich from the petrol station on the way to a client meeting count?

No. That is goods rather than a restaurant service, so there is no VAT deduction — and with no employee contribution, the employee is taxed on the value. Had you eaten lunch at the restaurant with the client instead, you could have reclaimed 25% of the VAT.