The satisfied employee is a committed employee. The committed employee is not only capable, but also willing to contribute more to the success of the company. Nowadays, the issue of well-being at work is a key management issue. Perhabs one of the most common tool to raise the satisfaction of the employees is to raise wages, but this is just a short therm solution, as the happinnes caused by the higher pay can quickly fade.
What other tool can raise or maintain the employees satisfaction, beyond salary?
Employers have the option to offer various benefits to their employees. While these benefits are not mandatory under Hungarian law, they can provide valuable support to staff and improve workplace morale. It’s important to note that none of the benefits discussed in this article are required by law, they are offered at the employer’s discretion.
The benefits can be divided into 3 groups. The first group can be the most attractive in the perspective of the employers, since it is the group of tax-free benefits. If the employer uses these tools, than it does not give any liability to pay tax neither to the employer or the employee. The second group is the fringe benefits, what provides 28% of tax liabilities to the employer. The third group is the certain defined benefits. In the latter case, the 28% tax rate must be multiplied by a factor of 1.18 to obtain the employer’s tax burden on benefits, which is 33.04%.
Tax-free benefits
In case, the employer decide to provide the employee with a tax-free benefit no tax liability of any kind arises on this type of benefit, either on the part of the employee or the employer. It is very important to note, that the tax -free allowance can only be claimed if the benefit meets all the requirements.
Although many people don’t think about it, an employer-provided laptop or computer at work is already a tax-free benefit. Several times the employer allow the employee to use the companies laptop to personal purposes in addition to work. In this case this is also considered as a tax-free benefit.
Having fun is a really important part of relaxation, the employer may also contribute tax-free. This contribution can happen by purchasing passes or tickets for the employees to different sport events, cultural events (with the exception of cinema tickets), or even a visit to the zoo. It is important that the tax-free allowance can only be claimed if the employer hands over the tickets or passes directly to the employees. The tickets, passes can not be refundable and cannot be used as a voucher. The yearly limit of the benefit is based on the minimum wage. The total value of the handed over assets cannot be higher than the minimum wage. From 01.01.2025. the amount of the monthly minimum wage is 290 800 Forint, up to this amount per year for the above-mentioned passes and season tickets.
If the company owns a sports facility than to provide the usage of it at a reduced or for free of charge to the employees is also a tax-free benefit.
It is also tax-free if the company hand over for private use of it’s own bicycle driven by human power and assisted by an electric motor up to 300 W.
The employer may also subsidise the employee’s housing, for example by providing an interest-free housing loan through a credit institution, up to a maximum of HUF 10 million, which may not exceed this amount within 4 years.
An employer can support an employee’s professional training tax-free, provided that the training is conducted outside of the formal school system. In addition, the liability insurance premiums for the performance of the duties of a manager may be covered free of tax, provided that the company arranges and pays for it.
Tax-free benefits include protective equipment, work clothes and other clothing and accessories that are essential for work or that the company’s internal rules require to be worn
Támogatható továbbá a munkába járás is, történjen az akár saját gépjárművel, vagy tömegközlekedéssel. Saját gépjármű esetében fontos, hogy a maximálisan, adómentesen adható juttatás, 30FT/Km- nek megfelelő összeg lehet. Abban az esetben, ha a munkavállaló inkább a tömegközlekedést választja, úgy a munkáltató adómentesen térítheti a munkavállaló számára a távolsági bérletek, menetjegyek ellenértékét. Ebben az esetben a munkáltató az utazási költségek legalább 86%-ának térítésére köteles, a 86%-ot meghaladó térítés is adómentes juttatásnak minősül. The company can also support commuting to work, whether by private car or public transport. In the case of a private car, it is important to note that the maximum tax-free allowance is 30FT/km. In case the employee prefers to use public transport, the employer may reimburse the employee tax-free for the cost of long-distance tickets. In this case, the employer is obliged to reimburse at least 86% of the travel costs, and any reimbursement in excess of 86% is also considered a tax-free allowance.
If you need more information, please contact us at office@paragrafslovakia.sk, and we will do our best to respond as soon as possible!
