Fringe benefits and rent bonuses for new hires: here are the exemption limits. Exceeding them triggers ordinary taxation and can transform the premium into taxed income
Paycheck bonuses, here they come at the end of the year. But be careful, there are three numbers to keep in mind: one thousand, two thousand and five thousand euros. Exceeding them can mean the difference between a net bonus and one taxed as ordinary income.
Paycheck bonuses and fringe benefits: thresholds of one thousand and two thousand euros
The legislation provides that bonuses included in the pay slip during the year, in particular the so-called fringe benefits, can be excluded from ordinary taxation within certain limits. For the three-year period 2025-2027, the exemption threshold has been raised compared to the ordinary regime and set at one thousand euros for the majority of employees. The ceiling rises to 2 thousand euros for those who have fiscally dependent sons or daughters. The limit of 2 thousand euros is entirely up to each working parent, even if there is only one child, as long as they are both fiscally dependent.
Not only the classic company benefits are included in the rules, but also the sums paid or reimbursed for the payment of household utilities, the rent of the main home or interest on the mortgage. The sum is made and if the overall value of the fringe benefits exceeds the established threshold, the entire amount, and not just the excess part, is subject to ordinary taxation. No exemptions.
Attention, for tax purposes all sums received by January 12th of the following year must be taken into consideration. Therefore the bonuses awarded between December and the beginning of January can still affect the 2025 calculation.
Rental bonus of up to 5 thousand euros: how it works and when it is convenient
Then there is a threshold regarding the rent bonus for new hires. In this case the limit to be considered is decidedly higher, i.e. 5 thousand euros. The bonus is reserved for workers hired with a permanent contract in 2025, who in 2024 did not exceed 35,000 euros in income and who transferred their residence to the municipality of the place of work, which must be more than 100 kilometers away from where they previously resided. In this case, unlike traditional fringe benefits, the 5 thousand euros are a real deductible. If the total amount of rent and maintenance reimbursements exceeds this limit, only the excess portion is taxed as employment income. Furthermore, the limits of the rental bonus can be combined with those of the fringe benefits. In practice, a worker can benefit from an exemption of up to 5 thousand euros for rent and, in addition, up to a thousand or 2 thousand euros for other bonuses on the pay slip.
