In Turkey, it is a common practice for employers to provide meal aid to their employees. Meal aid can be in the form of directly providing meals to employees at the workplace, or it can be in the form of giving employees money for meals or valuables that replace money, such as meal cards or tickets.
As of 2022, provided that no meals are provided by employers in the workplace or its outbuildings, the amount determined by the Social Security Institution of all payments made in cash or in kind to the insured or to third parties for the insured under the name of meal cost, shall be excluded from the premium earnings used as the basis for calculating the social insurance premiums to be paid. Accordingly, the premium-based earnings exemption is calculated as follows:
Number of Days Actually Worked in the Month x Daily Exception Amount = Monthly Exception Amount.
Meal Fee Paid – Exemption Amount = Meal Cost to be Included in Prime Earnings.
The daily meal cost that will be exempt from the social insurance premium that will be applied as for the year 2024 is TRL 666.75 x 23.65% = TRL 157.69.
If meals are served at the workplace or in its outbuildings
If a meal is provided at the workplace, the entire meal cost will be exempt from social security premiums. If meals provided from outside are distributed to employees at the workplace, the entire meal cost will be exempt from social security premiums. In both cases, there is no upper limit for the exception.
Meal aid provided to employees in cash or with cards such as TICKET, SODEXO, or cash payments made by the employer to third parties
There is a social insurance premium exception of TRL 157.69 per day for the calendar year of 2024, if employers make cash payments to third parties under the name of meal costs in places other than the workplace or outbuildings for the insured.
