€50 more per month for your driver. No wage tax, no social security contributions.
For €50 net to reach the driver, a pay rise costs you at least €100, depending on salary and tax class often more. With the givve Card you load €50 and the driver receives €50. Plus a meal allowance for every working day. We are a givve sales partner: we set up the card for your business and make sure it runs correctly in payroll.
Official sales partnerWhy gross pay is the most expensive way to do something good for a driver
Every euro of pay rise is taxed and charged twice: once on your side as the employer's contribution, once on the driver's side as wage tax and employee contribution. In the end he keeps roughly half. The benefit in kind via the givve Card bypasses both deductions as long as the €50 monthly exemption limit is respected.
This is not a trick but an arrangement that has been regulated in the German Income Tax Act for years. It just has to be implemented correctly: in addition to salary, without a cash function, properly on the payslip. That part is ours.
The example is rounded and assumes tax class I without church tax and average contribution rates. The actual figure depends on the individual case. Agree the implementation with your tax adviser.
| Goal: €50 more for the driver | Reaches the driver | Costs you |
|---|---|---|
| €50 gross pay rise | approx. €28 | approx. €60 |
| Gross pay rise so that €50 net arrives | €50 | at least €100 |
| €50 benefit in kind via the givve Card | €50 | €50 + card fee |
Why benefits in transport are no longer a nice-to-have
Drivers today compare two offers and take the one where more is left over. Salary alone no longer decides that. Four reasons the card belongs in your business before the next resignation.
Two businesses, same wage. The driver goes where he has €50 more to spend every month and his birthday is not forgotten.
Someone who feels every month that his boss thinks of him does not call the neighbour. Satisfaction is cheaper than turnover.
In regional transport everyone pays roughly the same. With a benefit the neighbour does not offer, you are the better employer in the job ad and in the interview.
Benefit in kind and meal allowance are free of tax and social security contributions for you and the driver. That makes them the more efficient alternative to a pay rise.
Three components, one card
The givve Card is a reloadable prepaid Mastercard. The driver pays with it regionally wherever Mastercard is accepted: weekly shopping, fuel, restaurants. By card, app or phone. You decide which components to use.
The classic. Up to €50 per month and employee free of wage tax and social security contributions, for all employees or selected groups. Net equals gross: the driver spends the full credit where he likes, just not as cash.
Details at givve (German) →Up to €7.67 per working day (2026), on up to 15 days a month, in addition to the benefit in kind. The driver pays at restaurants, snack bars, cafés, bakeries or butchers with the card. No receipts, nothing to submit. Whatever he does not use in a month carries over to the next. Suits regional transport and depot work; restrictions apply for drivers receiving per diems.
Details at givve (German) →Gifts for personal occasions up to €60 each, also tax-free and independent of the €50 per month. Instead of flowers and an envelope, an extra top-up on the same card, two clicks in the business portal, with documentation for the payroll file.
What you get out of it
- Benefit in kind and meal allowance implemented tax-compliantly, no checking on your side
- Administration in the givve business portal: add employees, top-ups run automatically
- All components on one card, no voucher paperwork
- For every business size, from sole trader to fleet
- Drivers who feel they get more than elsewhere, and stay
- Benefit shown correctly on the payslip when we run your payroll
What your driver gets out of it
- Net equals gross: €50 loaded is €50 to spend
- Pays regionally anywhere with Mastercard: weekly shopping, fuel, food
- Card, app and mobile payment with the phone
- Meal allowance without receipts, unused credit does not expire
- Birthday and wedding come as top-ups on the same card
- Appreciation he can feel, every single month
Five mistakes that cost you the tax advantage retroactively
The rules are simple, and so are the traps. At the next audit by the pension insurance or tax office, the benefit is taxed and charged retroactively if any of these apply.
The benefit must be granted in addition to the salary already owed (§ 8 (4) EStG). Deduct €50 from gross pay and load it onto the card, and you lose the tax exemption for the whole amount.
€50 is an exemption limit. At €50.01 the entire benefit becomes taxable, not just the one cent. Other benefits in kind in the same month, such as a fuel voucher, count towards it.
Payouts, bank transfers or a card with a cash function are not a benefit in kind. The givve Card meets the requirements of § 8 (1) EStG; a home-made solution usually does not.
On days with a tax-free per diem, i.e. absence of more than eight hours, no meal allowance can be granted. For long-haul drivers, usually only the €50 benefit in kind fits.
The benefit belongs in the payroll account even if no tax is due. If it is missing there, the evidence is missing at the audit. In our payroll service this runs automatically.
Nothing. We set the card up so that the first four points cannot technically happen, and we take the fifth into payroll. The tax assessment in the individual case remains with your tax adviser.
How we set up the card for your business
From the first call to the first top-up usually takes two to three weeks. Your effort: one phone call and a list of employees.
Who the card pays off for, and who it does not
Every resignation costs onboarding, downtime and in the worst case a parked vehicle. €50 a month the driver feels every month is cheaper than any driver search.
When the wage budget is exhausted, the benefit in kind is the only way to give the driver more without losing half to deductions.
The benefit does not count towards the minimum wage. Anyone paying below minimum wage and topping up with the card gets a problem with customs, not a solution.
The €50 benefit in kind works, the meal allowance on per-diem days does not. We tell you that in the net-pay check beforehand, not afterwards.
Transparency: what we earn from it
K.G. Transport Consulting is a sales partner of givve (partner number 113). If you become a givve customer via our link, givve pays us a commission. Your price at givve does not change; you pay the same conditions as with direct registration.
That is why our advice and setup cost you nothing. And that is why we also tell you when the card does not pay off for your business: a recommendation that is cancelled after three months brings us nothing and you trouble.
The givve Card is issued by givve GmbH, Munich. Your contractual partner for the card is givve, not us. We advise on the introduction and integrate the card into payroll.
Already know what you want?
Then go straight to givve here (pages in German). Via these links you are registered as a customer of K.G. Transport Consulting, and we still accompany the setup. If you want to run the numbers first, take the net-pay check.
givve Card benefit in kind
€50 per month and employee, free of tax and social security contributions. For all businesses and all driver groups.
Learn more and start at givve →givve Card meal allowance
Up to €7.67 per working day on top. For regional transport, depot and office staff without daily per diems.
Learn more and start at givve →Frequently asked questions about the givve Card
What does the givve Card cost the employer?
The amount you load, for example €50 per month and employee, plus the card fees according to givve's current price list. Wage tax and social security contributions are not due within the exemption limit. Our advice and setup cost you nothing; we are remunerated by givve as a sales partner. We tell you the total cost per employee in the net-pay check beforehand.
Can I give the card instead of the next pay rise?
As an additional benefit yes, as a conversion of existing pay no. The benefit must be granted in addition to the salary already owed. If you have paid the driver €2,800 gross so far and in future €2,750 plus card, you lose the tax exemption. If you continue to pay €2,800 and add the card on top, you are on the safe side. Clarify details with your tax adviser.
Is more than €50 per month possible?
Yes, via flat-rate taxation under § 37b EStG. Benefits in kind of up to €10,000 per employee and year can be taxed at a flat 30 %, for example for a bonus after a strong quarter or a special top-up at year end. You bear the flat-rate tax, the driver gets the full amount on the card. Social security contributions still apply for your own employees in this case, which is why we run the numbers with you and your tax adviser beforehand.
Does every employee have to get a card?
No. You can give the card to everyone or only to certain groups, such as all drivers or all employees from the sixth month. The rule just has to be comprehensible and not arbitrary. Mini-jobbers can also receive the benefit; it does not count towards the mini-job limit.
Does the meal allowance also work for drivers receiving per diems?
On days on which the driver receives a tax-free per diem, i.e. absence of more than eight hours, no meal allowance can be granted. For drivers in regional transport and depot work with shorter absences the meal allowance fits; for long-haul drivers usually only the €50 benefit in kind. We check this per driver group in the net-pay check.
What happens to the credit if the driver resigns?
Credit already loaded belongs to the employee and can still be spent. You stop future top-ups in the portal with the leaving date. With our payroll service we handle the deregistration.
Does the benefit count towards the minimum wage?
No. The minimum wage must be paid in money; benefits in kind are not credited. The card is a benefit on top, not a substitute for wages. That is also why it works for driver retention: the driver sees €50 every month that he does not get elsewhere.
How quickly can we start?
After the net-pay check you register with givve via our link, the cards are produced and shipped. As a rule the cards are in your business two to three weeks after registration. The first top-up can run on the next first of the month.
How many drivers should get more net pay?
Describe your business. You will receive the net-pay check and the total cost per employee on one page.