Meal Card Tax Benefits: Complete Guide for Salaried Employees for AY 2026-27 and Tax Year 2026-27

If you're a salaried employee and have the chance to get a meal card (like Sodexo/Pluxxe, Zaggle, etc), it's definitely worth considering because you can benefit from income tax deductions under both the old and new tax regimes starting from the Tax Year 2026-27 onwards. But keep in mind, meal cards are only good for groceries and food purchases, so if you don't typically use your salary to buy those, the meal card might not be very helpful to you.

Do note that the meal card benefit is capped at Rs 50 per meal under Income Tax Rules, 1962. So, for filing ITR on or before July 31, 2026 for AY 2026-27, you need to keep this limit in mind. For filing ITR on or before July 31, 2027 for Tax Year 2026-27, the meal card benefit increases to Rs 200 per meal.

Also one of the biggest updates for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26), is that the meal card tax benefit is available only under the old tax regime due to the restrictive wording of the Income Tax Act, 1961. However, the Income Tax Act, 2025, does not have these limitations and so starting from Tax Year 2026-27, you can claim the meal card tax benefit under both the old and new tax regimes.

Keep reading this article if you are interested in using the meal card or if you already do and and want to save on income tax under the old tax regime (for AY 2026-27) and both tax regimes (for Tax Year 2026-27).

Also read: Meal cards to offer Rs 1.05 lakh income tax exemption: New changes for salaried taxpayers under Income Tax Rules 2026 to be effective from April this year

How to file and report meal card perquisite in the ITR for both Tax Year 2026-27 and AY 2026-27?

Before filing the income tax return (ITR), employees should review their Form 16 and check with their HR or payroll team whether the total perquisite value in Form 16 does not include the meal perquisite value or if it appears incorrect. This is because the meal card perquisite value is not shown separately but rather is included in the total perquisite value.

Rohan Mandhania, Chief Financial Officer, HungerBox, says that from a tax filing perspective, even though the meal card benefit is exempt from taxes, if its value is up to a specified amount, it should still be disclosed in the ITR under exempt perquisites and should match the details in Part B of Form 16.

Chartered Accountant Suresh Surana says that the meal card or meal voucher benefit should be reported in the Income Tax Return (ITR) as part of salary income under perquisites. Employees should first verify whether the meal card amount has been considered in the value of perquisites under Section 17(2). In most cases, the taxable portion is already included by the employer in Part B of Form 16 and, wherever applicable in Form 12BA, and it gets auto-populated in the salary schedule of the ITR.

Keeping in mind which year you are filing the ITR, the AY 2026-27 or Tax Year 2026-27. If the amount of meal card limits (Rs 50 per meal for AY 2026-27 or Rs 200 per meal for Tax Year 2026-27) Surana says if there is any amount exceeding the exempt threshold, then it should form part of taxable salary and needs to be disclosed in Schedule Details of Income from Salary (i.e. Schedule S) – Para 1(b) – Value of Perquisite as per Section 17(2) with the following details such as Nature of Perquisite (Free meals), Description and Taxable amount.

Manually calculate and include the meal card perquisite's excess value in ITR if employer did not take it in Form 16

If you have got more than Rs 50 per meal (AY 2026-27) or Rs 200 per meal (Tax Year 2026-27), then the excess amount is taxable. Surana says in case your employer has not considered the taxable excess in Form 16, the employee should manually include this amount under the head "Income from Salary" while filing the ITR.

For AY 2026-27 (ITR filing due date is July 31, 2026), according to Surana, Rule 3(7)(iii) which applies for AY 2026-27 (FY 2025-26), restricts such tax benefit pertaining to perquisite only for the taxpayers under the old tax regime and can't be claimed under the new tax regime.

For Tax Year, 2026-27 (ITR filing due date is July 31, 2027), the meal card benefit is available under both old and new tax regime and as such you can claim up to Rs 200 per meal as the tax free perquisite.

Meal card benefit is not separately visible in Form 16 part B but in Form 12BA it is

According to Surana, if the meal card or Sodexo benefit is not separately visible in Form 16 and employees should not assume that the benefit has been left out. Form 16 Part B does not specifically mention meal cards or meal vouchers as a separate line item. Instead, it generally reflects only the total value of perquisites under Section 17(2), along with a reference to Form 12BA, wherever applicable.

Surana says: "Employees should therefore carefully review Form 12BA, along with their salary structure, salary slips, or detailed salary break-up shared by the employer, as the detailed bifurcation of such benefits is often captured there."

Surana also points out that salaried employees should maintain proper documentation and usage records relating to the Sodexo or meal card benefit. This may include transaction statements, employer policy documents, salary slips, and voucher usage details.

Surana says: "These records help establish that the prescribed conditions under Rule 15(5)(a) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 (corresponding to Rule 3(7)(iii) of the Income-tax Rules, 1962) have been duly complied with and the employee is eligible for the tax exemption."

Meal card tax benefit is not available if it is merged into salary and not shown separately

Proper payroll structuring and clear documentation remain key compliance requirements for claiming the income tax exemption in respect of meal cards or vouchers.

Mandhania from HungerBox, says that the tax benefit due to meal cards works only when employers structure it properly.

Mandhania says: "Meal allowances offered through prepaid cards or cafeteria programmes are treated as non-monetary perquisites under the Income Tax Act and must be recorded accordingly in payroll, rather than being merged into gross salary."

According to Surana, from a compliance perspective, the amount should be specifically designated as a meal allowance or meal voucher benefit, issued through non-transferable meal cards, coupons, or vouchers, and redeemable only at eligible food outlets or eating joints. Further, it should be reflected as a separate salary component in the payroll records and salary break up.

Meal card tax benefits available under the new tax regime only from Tax Year 2026-27 onwards and not AY 2026-27

Meal card tax benefits are available under the new tax regime and old tax regime both for Tax Year 2026-27 onwards

Chartered Accountant Ashish Karundia says that under the current framework of Rule 3(7), meal vouchers are treated as a perquisite above a threshold, with an explicit restriction applicable to individuals opting for the new regime. However, under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, specifically Rule 15, Table IV, Sl. No. 3, there is no express limitation on this benefit for taxpayers choosing the new regime.

According to Karundia, a plausible interpretation is that where the value of the meal benefit does not exceed Rs 200 per meal and is provided in the normal course of employment, it may not qualify as a taxable perquisite at all.

Karundia says: "Consequently, in such cases, there may be no requirement to include the benefit in salary income, irrespective of whether the taxpayer is governed by the old or the new tax regime."