Valuation of benefits in kind

The Federal Fiscal Court and the tax authorities have clarified how goods and services that are not offered to end consumers on the market in this way are to be valued.

Last year, the German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof) ruled on the valuation of benefits in kind that a benefit in kind can generally also be measured on the basis of costs if a good or service is not generally distributed to end consumers. This ruling has now been endorsed by the tax authorities. The Federal Ministry of Finance has therefore ruled that a non-cash benefit can be assessed at the level of the employer's corresponding expenses, including VAT and all ancillary costs, if the specific good or service is not offered to end consumers on comparable terms on the market.