Salaried employees who get the benefit of meal coupons, meal vouchers, meal cards like Sodexo/Pluxee, Zaggle), or subsidised food from the office canteen, can now claim an income tax deduction of up to Rs 1.05 lakh , under both the old and the new tax regime. This arises out of the new Income Tax Rules, 2026 which the parliament approved last week.
Earlier, the tax exemption for such meal cards/vouchers/subsidised food was capped at Rs 50 per meal which meant that if your employer provided you two meals a day worth Rs 50 each (totaling Rs 100), then that amount was exempt from income tax.
Now, the income tax rules for 2026 have raised this limit to Rs 200 per meal. While the jump from Rs 50 to Rs 200 may not seem huge, calculations indicate that employees could potentially receive up to Rs 1,05,600/year in tax exemptions annually.
- Rs 200 × 2 meals = Rs 400 per day
- Rs 400 × 22 working days = Rs 8,800 per month
- Rs 8,800 × 12 months = Rs 1,05,600 per year
Keep reading to know how this Rs 1.05 lakh tax exemption can work for a CTC of Rs Rs 15 lakh, Rs 20 lakh, Rs 25 lakh and Rs 30 lakh under both old and new tax regime.
Meal card/coupon/voucher benefit under Income Tax Rules, 2026
Since the law and income tax rules, 2026 are silent on whether the meal card benefit is available under the new tax regime or not, experts have interpreted and explained that it can be available. Until the government or Income Tax Department explicitly denies this tax exemption, you can claim it in the new tax regime.
Preeti Gupta, Director, Deloitte India says that the Income-tax Rules, 1962 included a proviso specifying that the exemption for free food and non‑alcoholic beverages provided through paid vouchers would not be available to employees opting for Section 115BAC (the new tax regime) of Income-tax Act, 1961.
Gupta says: “This restriction is absent in the newly notified Income-tax Rules, 2026. Since the Income‑tax Rules, 2026 do not explicitly impose such a limitation, the meal card exemption should be available under both tax regimes.”
Chartered Accountant Ashish Karundia says that the tax treatment of employer-provided meal vouchers under the new tax regime, effective April 1, 2026, has given rise to interpretational uncertainty. 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.
Karundia says: “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.”
Table showing how you can the new tax rules, 2026 help you save income tax due to meal card/voucher/ coupon
Salary Income (CTC) Level: Rs 15 lakh, Rs 20 lakh, Rs 25 lakh and Rs 30 lakh
| Particulars | Rs 15 lakh | Rs 20 lakh | Rs 25 lakh | Rs 30 lakh |
| Basic | 7,50,000 | 10,00,000 | 12,50,000 | 15,00,000 |
| HRA (assumed to be fully exempt under Old Tax Regime) | 3,75,000 | 5,00,000 | 6,25,000 | 7,50,000 |
| Children Education Allowance (assumed to be fully exempt under Old Tax Regime) | 72,000 | 72,000 | 72,000 | 72,000 |
| Food Coupon (assumed to be fully exempt under both the Tax Regimes) | 1,05,600 | 1,05,600 | 1,05,600 | 1,05,600 |
| Special Allowance | 1,97,400 | 3,22,400 | 4,47,400 | 5,72,400 |
| Taxable Income as per Old Tax Regime (assuming no deduction other than Standard deduction) | 8,97,400 | 12,72,400 | 1,647,400 | 20,22,400 |
| Tax along with Education Cess as per Old Tax Regime after considering Rebate u/s 87A | 95,659 | 2,01,989 | 318,989 | 4,35,989 |
| Taxable Income as per New Tax Regime (assuming no deduction other than Standard deduction) | 13,19,400 | 18,19,400 | 23,19,400 | 28,19,400 |
| Tax along with Education Cess as per New Tax Regime after considering Rebate u/s 87A | 81,026 | 1,70,435 | 2,91,044 | 4,42,853 |
Source: Deloitte
Debate over old and new tax regime
Since the rules are silent about whether the meal card benefit is available under new tax regime or not, experts have interpreted in different ways.
Neeraj Agarwala, Senior Partner, Nangia & Co LLP says that under Section 202 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, income under the new tax regime is required to be computed without allowing any exemption or deduction in respect of allowances or perquisites.
Thus Agarwala’s opinion differs from Gupta and Karundia’s. He says: “Accordingly, the tax benefit in respect of meal cards would not be available under the new tax regime and would continue to be available only under the old tax regime.”
Does the meal card benefit differ for those who work from home 5 days a week or those who work 6 days a week, and those who work 24 days a month?
Agarwala from Nangia & Co LLP, says that the quantum of benefit is directly linked to the number of working days and the employer’s policy on providing meal cards.
According to Agarwala, since the exemption is calculated on a per-meal, per-working-day basis, employees working a standard five-day week (approximately 22 days a month) can avail an annual exemption of around Rs 1,05,600.
Agarwala says: “Those working six days a week (around 26 days a month) could potentially avail a higher benefit of up to ₹1,24,800 annually. The benefit can also be availed by employees working from home.”
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