From the point of view of income tax, according to article 76 paragraph (3) letter h) of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, the advantages, in cash or in-kind, except those provided in paragraph (4), received in connection with an activity mentioned in paragraph (1) and (2) include, but are not limited to:
(…) h) vouchers in the form of gift vouchers granted in accordance with the law, except for the destinations and limits provided for in paragraph 4 (a), meal vouchers, holiday vouchers, nursery vouchers, and cultural vouchers, issued in accordance with laws.
From the point of view of the compulsory social contributions, according to article 142 letter r), corroborated with article 157 paragraph (2) and article 2204 paragraph (2) of the above-mentioned law, they are not included in the monthly basis for calculating social insurance contributions the following: (…) r) vouchers in the form of meal vouchers, holiday vouchers, gift vouchers, nursery vouchers, cultural vouchers, granted according to the law.
This means that in case the gift vouchers are granted, according to the law, on destinations other than those provided in article 76 paragraph (4) letter a) of the Fiscal Code (respectively on the occasion of Easter, June 1, Christmas, and similar holidays of other religious denominations, March 8), they are subject to the payroll tax but are exempt from the payment of compulsory social contributions.
We remind you that the legislation regulating the granting of gift vouchers is Law no. 165/2018 on the granting of securities and GOVERNMENT DECISION no. 1045/2018 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the application of Law no. 165/2018 on the granting of securities.
According to article 15 paragraph (1) of Law no. 165/2018, gift vouchers are vouchers given, occasionally, to employees, for social expenses.
According to article 11 paragraph (2) of GOVERNMENT DECISION no. 1045/2018, employees can benefit from gift vouchers granted by their employers only for destinations or events that fall within the social expenses.
The expenses that are part of the category of social expenses are mentioned in Article 25 paragraph (3) letter b) point (4) of Law no. 227/2015 regarding the Fiscal Code, namely:
(…) 4. other social expenses incurred on the basis of the collective labor contract or of internal regulation.
Thus, only gift vouchers granted for destinations or events that fall within the mentioned social expenses, provided in the employment contract (individually or collectively) or in the internal regulations, do not enter into the basis for calculating social contributions regardless of the value of the gift vouchers.
In view of the above, the granting of gift vouchers for other destinations must be provided for in the employment contract (individually or collectively) or in the internal regulations and must be granted for destinations or events that fall within the social expenses, so as not to social contributions are due.
All employees can receive gift vouchers on various occasions.
Regarding the value of gift vouchers over 150 lei, according to article 76 paragraph (4) letter a) point i) of Law no. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code, the following incomes are not taxable, within the meaning of income tax:
(…) In the case of gifts in cash and/or in-kind, including gift vouchers, offered by employers, income is non-taxable, insofar as their value for each person, on each occasion below, does not exceed 150 lei:
(i) gifts given to employees, as well as those offered to their minor children, on the occasion of Easter, Christmas, and similar holidays of other religious denominations.
From the point of view of CAS, according to article 142 letter b) point i) of the above-mentioned law, the following are not included in the monthly basis for calculating social insurance contributions: () Gifts in cash and/or in-kind, including vouchers gift, offered by employers to employees are not included in the calculation basis of the contribution insofar as their value for each person, on each occasion from the following, does not exceed 150 lei:
- gifts are given to employees, as well as those offered to their minor children, on the occasion of Easter, Christmas, and similar holidays of other religious denominations;
- gifts are given to employees on the occasion of March 8;
- gifts offered to employees for the benefit of their minor children on the occasion of June 1.
According to point 5 paragraph (1) of the Methodological Norms for the application of the Fiscal Code, in the application of the provisions of article 142 letter b) of the Fiscal Code, the part exceeding the limit of 150 lei represents income from salaries and is included in the calculation basis of mandatory social contributions.
From the point of view of CASS, according to Article 157 (2), the monthly basis for calculating the social health insurance contribution does not include the amounts provided for in Article 76 (4) (d), Article 141 (d), and Article 142.
Also, according to article 2204 paragraph (2), the monthly basis for calculating the insurance contribution for work does not include the amounts provided in article 142.
Therefore, the maximum non-taxable value and not subject to mandatory contributions is 150 lei/person/event, and for the part that exceeds 150 lei, for each person, for each holiday (event), income tax, and mandatory social contributions are due.
Legal basis:
– Law 165/2018 on the granting of securities, with subsequent amendments and completions;
– Fiscal Code (approved by Law no. 227/2015, published in the Official Gazette no. 688 of 10.09.2015), with subsequent amendments and completions;
– Fiscal Procedure Code (approved by Law no. 207/2015, published in the Official Gazette no. 547 of 23.07.2015), with subsequent amendments and completions;
– Methodological Norms for the application of the Fiscal Code (approved by GOVERNMENT DECISION no. 1/2016).