Employee choice
- Meal cards
- Employees choose their restaurant and meal
- Traditional catering
- A fixed daily menu is most common
- iştebu! yemek
- Employees choose the meal they want from the contracted kitchen’s options
Illustrative calculation · 2026 rules after 17 April
Calculate the company cost of your meal budget
How does your monthly cost change when you provide the same net meal value through different methods?
Your monthly cost comparison
Because incentive conditions are unknown or outside this calculation’s scope, profile-specific withholding relief, stamp duty exemption and SGK support have not been applied. Meal exemptions and the selected general premium reduction are retained. This is not your actual or maximum cost; net value and differences also belong to the reference scenario.
Estimate using standard payroll assumptions.
Compare the same net value
- Selected method: monthly company cost
- Workplace meals: monthly company cost
- Estimated monthly cost difference
- Monthly payment / loading · all employees
- Monthly employee net value · all employees
- Net value difference · method − workplace meals
Amounts above are monthly totals for all employees.
Difference = selected method − workplace meals. A negative difference means the selected method costs the company less; this is not a savings promise.
Cash, card credit and a meal service offer different usage rights. This compares company cash outflows for the same net amount, not purchasing power.
If the same conditions continue for 12 months:
The iştebu! yemek amount assumes the entire budget is used for meals served at the workplace, with VAT, delivery and service included. Workplace-meal exemption conditions apply. Unused budget is not modelled.
Selected method: monthly calculation per person
- Gross payment / loading
- SGK contribution base
- Income-tax base
- Employee SGK contribution
- Employee unemployment contribution
- Income tax
- Stamp duty
- Employer SGK · before support
- Employer unemployment contribution
- General premium reduction (−)
- Employer SGK support (−)
- Employer withholding relief (−)
- Employee net value
- Final company cost
Income tax is deducted from employee net value; withholding relief is deducted once from employer cost only. General premium reduction applies first, then support covers half the remaining employer SGK share. Unemployment contributions are excluded from this support.
How is this calculated?
Existing pay is assumed to use the minimum-wage tax exemption. One marginal income-tax rate applies; bracket transitions are excluded. Each calculation covers regular 4/a employees with the same payroll conditions; calculate mixed groups separately. Recoverable VAT, corporate income tax, card commissions, retired employees, other employment incentives and partial incentive eligibility are excluded. Confirm actual costs against your payroll.
Daily exemptions: cash income/stamp tax 300₺; card including VAT 330₺. SGK for cash and card 300₺. Applicable workplace-meal exemptions have no amount cap.
Sources checked: 2026-10-10 · Calculation period: 2026-04-17 – 2026-12-31
Legislation and sources
- 7577 m.10 · Resmî Gazete · 17.04.2026
- 4691 · GİB · 12.11.2024 · Stopaj / withholding
- 4691 · 331 · 01.08.2025 · GİB
- 5746 · 01.08.2025 · GİB · %80 / %90 / %95
- 5746 · Damga / stamp · 04.09.2025 · GİB
- SGK 2020/20 + 2021/8 · §9.1–9.2 · SGMD kopyası / copy
- SGK 2011/45 · Destek sırası / support order · Kopya / copy
- SGK · Tavan / ceiling · 01.01.2026
- GVK 23/8 · GİB
- 2026 · 300₺ / 330₺ · Ulaştırma ve Altyapı Bakanlığı / TBMM
- SGK 2026/12 · 17.04.2026 · ETO kopyası
- SGK · 2026
- 5510/81 · SGK
- GVK 63 · GİB
- 488 · GİB
Meal cards, catering, and iştebu! yemek.
Compare employee choice, delivery, daily operations, feedback, and tax treatment side by side.
Every model has strengths and limitations. Common arrangements are shown; features vary by provider and contract.
| Criteria | Meal cards | Traditional catering | iştebu! yemek |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee choice | Employees choose their restaurant and meal | A fixed daily menu is most common | Employees choose the meal they want from the contracted kitchen’s options |
| How the meal arrives | Employees travel or place an individual order | Meals arrive together at work | Name-labeled, microwave-ready individual containers arrive together |
| Daily operations | The company loads balances; employees manage their own meal | Counts and changes are tracked between the company and caterer | Choices, cancellations, and final counts are collected automatically |
| What the company sees | Balance and spend | Total count and invoice | Meal count, budget, invoices, and feedback |
| Feedback | Feedback goes to the restaurant or ordering app; the company cannot see satisfaction across the team. | Feedback is usually shared only when there is a serious issue; employees do not have a regular line to the kitchen. | After every meal, rating and commenting is easy; employee feedback reaches the kitchen and helps improve the food. |
| Cost model | Individual retail spending | Batch-production price | Planned batch production that preserves employee choice |
| Income-tax exemption | 100% income-tax exemption up to TRY 330 per working day in 2026* | 100% income-tax exemption with no amount cap when company-funded and served at the workplace | 100% income-tax exemption with no amount cap when company-funded and served at the workplace |
How the meal arrives
- Meal cards
- Employees travel or place an individual order
- Traditional catering
- Meals arrive together at work
- iştebu! yemek
- Name-labeled, microwave-ready individual containers arrive together
Daily operations
- Meal cards
- The company loads balances; employees manage their own meal
- Traditional catering
- Counts and changes are tracked between the company and caterer
- iştebu! yemek
- Choices, cancellations, and final counts are collected automatically
What the company sees
- Meal cards
- Balance and spend
- Traditional catering
- Total count and invoice
- iştebu! yemek
- Meal count, budget, invoices, and feedback
Feedback
- Meal cards
- Feedback goes to the restaurant or ordering app; the company cannot see satisfaction across the team.
- Traditional catering
- Feedback is usually shared only when there is a serious issue; employees do not have a regular line to the kitchen.
- iştebu! yemek
- After every meal, rating and commenting is easy; employee feedback reaches the kitchen and helps improve the food.
Cost model
- Meal cards
- Individual retail spending
- Traditional catering
- Batch-production price
- iştebu! yemek
- Planned batch production that preserves employee choice
Income-tax exemption
- Meal cards
- 100% income-tax exemption up to TRY 330 per working day in 2026*
- Traditional catering
- 100% income-tax exemption with no amount cap when company-funded and served at the workplace
- iştebu! yemek
- 100% income-tax exemption with no amount cap when company-funded and served at the workplace