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Corporate fitness programmes are an established way of retaining staff and promoting their health. In terms of tax, employers and employees particularly benefit when preventive activities fulfil the criteria of section 3 no. 34 of the Income Tax Act [Einkommensteuergesetz – EStG] and so can be offered tax-free.

The German federal government is planning to counter the current high costs of energy by introducing a relief premium. Employers will be able to make a voluntary pay-out to their employees of up to 1,000 euros tax- and social security-free by the end of 2026.

Article 3 of the Seventh Regulation Amending Tax Regulations expands the Digital Payroll Interface (Digitale Lohnschnittstelle–DLS). In future, employers are not only to prepare standard payroll data digitally but also the data determined and used for this purpose used by upstream and ancillary systems. The tax authorities’ goal is understandable. In practice, however, the change will throw up considerable technical, organisational and data protection questions. This new version of section 4(2a) of the Income Tax Implementing Regulation (Lohnsteuer-Durchführungsverordnung–LStDV) applies to the data recorded in payroll accounts from 1 January 2027.