Yes. Company health insurance (betriebliche Krankenversicherung, bKV) is tax-free in Germany and exempt from social security as long as all benefits in kind in a month stay at or below EUR 50 per employee. The employer must take out the policy, pay the insurer directly and give no option to take cash instead. At EUR 50.01 the whole amount becomes taxable pay.
Typical monthly premiums per employee for bKV budget plans in Germany and whether they fit under the EUR 50 threshold.
Example
Typical range
Annual budget EUR 300
about EUR 10 a month, well under the limit
Annual budget EUR 600
about EUR 19 to 26 a month, under the limit
Annual budget EUR 1,200
about EUR 36 a month, under the limit if there are no other benefits
Annual budget EUR 1,500
up to about EUR 56 a month, above the limit and taxable
Guide values as of October 2026, based on published plan prices.
The actual premium is set in the offer.
The tax statements rely on section 8 EStG, section 1 SvEV,
the Federal Fiscal Court and the court ruling named above.
Worked example
Software developer with a fuel voucher and a bKV
Your employer already gives you a EUR 25 fuel voucher each month and adds company health insurance with a EUR 600 budget.
Fuel voucher
EUR 25.00 a month
bKV, EUR 600 budget, paid monthly
about EUR 19 to 25 a month, depending on the plan
Total benefits in kind
about EUR 44 to 50
Threshold
EUR 50.00
Both stay tax-free and contribution-free if the plan costs no more than EUR 25. A dearer plan would push the total over EUR 50, and everything would be taxed.
Why company health insurance counts as a benefit in kind
German tax law asks what you actually receive: money or insurance cover. If your employment terms only entitle you to the cover, company health insurance is a benefit in kind (Sachbezug). The Federal Fiscal Court ruled this way in 2018, and the Federal Ministry of Finance set out the dividing line in a circular dated 15 March 2022.
If your employer instead pays a subsidy towards supplementary insurance you took out yourself, it counts as cash pay. The EUR 50 limit then does not apply and the subsidy is fully taxed and subject to contributions.
Budget plans (Budgettarife) are also insurance cover: the insurer reimburses bills for glasses, dental cleaning or alternative practitioners up to the annual budget, with no cash payout. What matters is that the benefit promise only grants insurance cover and gives you no option to take cash instead.
The EUR 50 covers all benefits in kind together
The limit is not reserved for company health insurance. Fuel vouchers, shopping cards or other benefits in kind in the same month count too. If you already receive a EUR 30 voucher, only EUR 20 is left for the bKV.
Because it is a threshold, not an allowance, going over makes everything taxable: at EUR 50.01 the full monthly value is subject to tax and social security, not just the extra cent.
Monthly value of all benefits in kind
Result for the bKV
bKV EUR 25, nothing else
tax-free and contribution-free
bKV EUR 25 plus voucher EUR 25
exactly EUR 50, still free
bKV EUR 25 plus voucher EUR 30
EUR 55, all of it taxable
bKV EUR 56 on its own
all of it taxable
Subsidy towards your own policy
always cash pay, no threshold
Monthly payments keep the limit safe
If the employer pays the annual company health insurance premium in one go, the tax office may treat the full year as received in that month, which is far above EUR 50. The Baden-Württemberg fiscal court (Finanzgericht, case 10 K 262/22) accepted monthly accrual for an annual prepayment in 2022. That is one lower court ruling; monthly payment avoids the dispute.
Most bKV plans can be billed monthly. Employers should make sure the payment frequency in the offer fits the threshold.
When the premium is above EUR 50
A EUR 1,500 budget or a hospital add-on often costs more than EUR 50 a month. Company health insurance is still possible, but it is then treated like salary: you pay income tax and social security on the full premium.
For the employer the premium is a business expense either way. In practice a plan just under the threshold is often the better deal for both sides.
Common mix-ups for newcomers
The EUR 600 a year for workplace health promotion under section 3 no. 34 EStG covers certified courses such as back training, not company health insurance premiums. Both can run side by side.
Company health insurance does not replace your statutory or private health insurance. It only tops it up, so your regular contributions continue unchanged.
Step by step
Ask HR which benefits in kind you already receive each month.
Add them up and check how much room is left under EUR 50.
Make sure the employer is the policyholder and pays monthly.
Check your payslip in the first month: the bKV should not appear as taxable pay.
If it does, ask HR whether the threshold was exceeded.
Checklist
Employer is policyholder and pays the insurer directly
No option to take cash instead of the cover
Monthly payment agreed
All benefits in kind together no more than EUR 50 a month
Paid on top of salary, not by converting pay
Premium increases kept in view so the limit is not breached later
Common mistakes
Adding the bKV to a full EUR 50 of vouchers
Paying the annual premium in one go and breaking the threshold in that month
Treating a subsidy towards your own private policy as a tax-free benefit
Confusing the EUR 600 health promotion allowance with bKV premiums
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Is the EUR 50 limit still the same in 2026?
Yes.
Since 2022 the threshold for benefits in kind has been EUR 50 per calendar month;
before that it was EUR 44.
Do I have to declare the bKV in my tax return?
No.
Within the threshold it does not count as pay.
Above it, tax is already deducted through payroll.
Are reimbursements from the bKV taxable?
No.
Payments for glasses, dentures or treatments are insurance benefits, not salary.
Can my family be covered tax-free?
If you add your partner or children at your own cost on group terms,
that is private and does not affect the threshold.
What happens to the bKV if I leave the company?
Cover usually ends with your job.
Good plans let you continue as an individual policy at your own cost without new health questions.
