Is the employee's mid-shift meal allowance used to pay social insurance premiums in Vietnam? How much is the mid-shift meal allowance?
What is the mid-shift meal allowance of employees according to the law?
Currently, the law does not have a specific definition of the concept of mid-shift meal allowance for employees.
However, it can be understood that the mid-shift meal allowance is an expense that the employer pays the employee to improve the quality of the employee's mid-shift meal. According to that, it helps to improve morale and health so that employees can work with more productivity and efficiency.
In fact, not every business or company will pay mid-shift meals for employees because this is not an obligation that enterprises and companies have to do because there are no specific regulations.
Some enterprises will pay mid-shift meals for employees and some enterprises will organize mid-shift meals for employees. Depending on the conditions of each enterprise, the payment for mid-shift meals and mid-shift meals will only apply to some employees who work full-time (both morning and afternoon shifts) or only work night shifts.
At Point c, Clause 5, Article 3 of Circular 10/2020/TT-BLDTBXH of Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Major contents of an employment contract in Vietnam
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5. Job- or position-based salary, form of salary payment, due date for payment of salary, allowances and other additional payments:
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c) Other additional payments as agreed by the contracting parties:
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The following benefits shall be stated in a separate section in the employment contract: bonuses mentioned in Article 104 of the Labor Code, initiative bonuses; mid-shift meal allowance; vehicle, cell phone, travel, lodging, daycare, children raising allowances; allowances for the employee with relatives who are dead or get married, employee’s birthday, allowances for the employee suffering financial hardship upon an occupational accident or disease and other allowances.
Thus, the employer and the employee can agree on the amount of mid-shift meal allowance of the employee, this agreement shall be stated in a separate section in the employment contract in Vietnam.
Is the employee's mid-shift meal allowance used to pay social insurance premiums in Vietnam? How much is the mid-shift meal allowance? (Image from the Internet)
How much is the employee's mid-shift meal allowance? Is it subject to personal income tax?
As mentioned above, the law does not have any definition of a mid-shift meal. Therefore, the level of support for mid-shift meals for employees will be agreed upon by the employee and the employer in a reasonable manner. The law is not binding on the employer's mid-shift meal allowance for employees.
However, in reality, the employer will agree with the employee on a reasonable allowance for mid-shift meals, the allowance is not too high to help the employee not have to bear additional personal income tax.
Because at Paragraph g.5, point g, Clause 2, Article 2 of Circular 111/2013/TT-BTC of Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Taxable incomes
According to Article 3 of the Law on Personal income tax and Article 3 of the Decree No. 65/2013/ND-CP, the incomes subjects to personal income tax (hereinafter referred to as taxable incomes) include:
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2. Incomes from wages and remunerations.
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g) The incomes below are not included in taxable incomes:
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g.5) Payment for mid-shift meals, lunch of employees provided by employers that provide mid-shift meals, lunch for their employees in the form of cooking, buying catering services, giving luncheon vouchers.
In case the employer does not organize a mid-shift meal or lunch but spends money on the employee, it is not included in the individual's taxable income if the expenditure level is consistent with the guidance of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs. In case the expenditure is higher than the level guided by the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, the excess expenditure must be included in the taxable income of the individual.
In Clause 4, Article 22 of Circular 26/2016/TT-BLDTBXH of Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Effect
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4. The enterprises shall spend the maximum amount of VND 730,000 per person per month on employees’ mid-shift meals. The mid-shift meal regime shall be subject to the guidelines in the Circular No. 22/2008/TT-BLDTBXH dated October 15, 2008 by the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social affairs on the provision of mid-shift meals in state-owned enterprises.
The employer will pay mid-shift meals for employees not exceeding VND 730,000/month/person.
If an employee receives a mid-shift meal allowance of less than VND 730,000/month, he or she will not have to pay personal income tax. Conversely, if the employee's mid-shift meal allowance is over VND 730,000/month, the employee will have to pay personal income tax for the support in excess of VND 730,000.
Is the employee's mid-shift meal allowance used to pay social insurance premiums in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 30 of Circular 59/2015/TT-BLDTBXH of Vietnam as amended by Clause 26, Article 1 of Circular 06/2021/TT-BLDTBXH of Vietnam as follows:
Monthly salary paid for compulsory social insurance
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3. Monthly salary serving as the basis for compulsory social insurance contribution does not include other benefits and policies such as awards according to Article 104 of the Labor Code, invention awards; mid-shift meal; travel, communication, accommodation, childcare allowances; allowances when relatives of employees decease, relatives of employees get married, birthday of employees, allowances for employees facing difficulty as a result of occupational diseases and accidents, and other allowances and benefits specified separately under employment contracts according to Sub-point c2 Point c Clause 5 Article 3 of Circular No. 10/2020/TT-BLDTBXH.
Thus, the mid-shift meal allowance that the employer supports for the employee will not be applied to the monthly salary on which the compulsory social insurance premium is based.
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