There is a way to increase your salary without having to worry about the tax effects. These are fringe benefits, bonuses of all kinds that end up on the paycheck and are tax-free or which, at most, have reduced rates. Between productivity bonuses, fringe benefits, corporate welfare and tax relief on contractual increases, there are various tools that allow workers to receive money or goods and services with a more favorable tax treatment compared to normal pay.
The good news is that some benefits are already planned for 2027 and do not need reconfirmation. On other fronts, however, everything depends on the decisions of the government, dealing with the latest financial maneuver of the legislature, between coverage and political choices.
Fringe benefit 2026 and 2027: up to 2,000 euros for bills, rent and purchases
One of the most interesting concessions concerns the so-called fringe benefits, i.e. goods, services and certain reimbursements recognized by companies to their employees in addition to the salary. Two annual tax and contribution exemption thresholds had already been established for the three-year period 2025-2027:
- 1,000 euros for all employees;
- 2,000 euros for workers with fiscally dependent children.
The peculiarity of this mechanism is that it does not only concern classic shopping vouchers. The ceiling may include, for example, fuel vouchers, shopping vouchers, goods and services granted by the company and, according to specific valorisation rules, also the private use of a company car.
Reimbursement of household water, electricity and gas bills, rental costs for the main home and interest on the mortgage on the first home are also eligible. Example: a worker without fiscally dependent children could receive 400 euros in shopping vouchers and 600 euros in bill reimbursement, without these 1,000 euros contributing to taxable income, as long as the established conditions are respected.
Be careful, however, of an aspect that can completely change the result. The 1,000 and 2,000 euros are overall thresholds, not deductibles: if they are exceeded, according to the provisions of article 51 of the TUIR, the entire value of the ordinarily taxable fringe benefits becomes subject to taxation, not just the excess part.
Furthermore, the company is not automatically obliged to recognize the maximum allowed by law.
Productivity bonuses, the already certain news: what happens up to 5,000 euros
The other measure already confirmed for next year concerns performance bonuses. The 2026 Budget Law reduced the substitute tax on productivity bonuses from 5% to 1% for the two-year period 2026-2027, simultaneously raising the overall eligible limit from 3,000 to 5,000 euros.
The scheme concerns private sector employees who in the previous year received income from employment not exceeding 80,000 euros. However, it is not enough to receive just any prize: the benefit in fact concerns those linked to measurable and verifiable increases in productivity, profitability, quality, efficiency or innovation, in addition to the sums recognized as a share in company profits. The requirements relating to corporate or territorial bargaining and the filing of agreements must also be respected.
How much does the worker actually have left? On a subsidized tax base of 3,000 euros, the 1% substitute tax is equal to 30 euros. On 5,000 euros it is equal to 50 euros. The measure concerns a significant audience. According to the latest available report from the Ministry of Labour, as of 15 September 2026 there were 17,936 active productivity contracts, with over 4.8 million workers involved. The average annual premium was 1,799.26 euros, approximately 194 euros more than in December 2025.
Premiums converted into welfare: when taxes can also be avoided
Then there is a particularly interesting possibility for employees: transforming the productivity bonus into company welfare goods and services. Resolution no. 22/E of 9 June 2026 of the Revenue Agency clarified that the new limit of 5,000 euros also applies to premiums converted, entirely or partially, into welfare.
By complying with the requirements, a worker can therefore choose to use the bonus for subsidized benefits, rather than receiving it directly in cash. Possible destinations include education services for family members, nursery schools, assistance for elderly or non-self-sufficient family members, some transport services, contributions to supplementary social security and those to supplementary healthcare.
For example, a prize of 4,000 euros converted into education services can be entirely excluded from income. A bonus converted into ordinary shopping vouchers must instead meet the specific exemption thresholds applicable to fringe benefits.
Electronic meal vouchers: up to 10 euros per day without taxes
Another benefit already operational is that of meal vouchers. The 2026 Budget Law increased the tax and contribution exemption threshold for electronic tickets from 8 to 10 euros per day. For paper vouchers the limit remains 4 euros.
The benefit does not automatically lead to an increase in the value of the tickets distributed by companies, but allows higher electronic vouchers to be recognized without applying taxes and contributions within the established threshold. An employee who received a 10 euro electronic voucher for 220 working days would have 2,200 euros available per year in entirely exempt tickets, according to the established rules. The institution is limited to 2026. Its continuation in 2027 depends on a new regulatory decision.
Maneuver 2027: what new features are really on the government’s table
In the 2027 budget plan approved by the Council of Ministers, the government states that it wants to focus on the protection of families’ purchasing power and support for businesses. For fiscal interventions, the programmatic framework contemplates resources equal to 0.09% of GDP in 2027, approximately 2.2 billion euros, without however specifying the amount allocated to individual salary incentives.
Among the measures that the government could extend with the 2027 budget there are two tax breaks on salaries. The first concerns the 5% tax relief on salary increases deriving from contractual renewals signed between 2024 and 2026, reserved for private employees with incomes up to 33 thousand euros in 2025. The second provides for a substitute tax of 15% on increases for night, holiday and shift work, up to 1,500 euros per year, for those who have received incomes not exceeding 40 thousand euros. Both benefits are currently planned for 2026 only.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced that she intends to confirm the tax relief on contractual increases in the next budget law, while Labor Minister Marina Calderone has expressed her intention to also give continuity to incentives for the most demanding jobs. For 2027, however, new provisions are needed, which will have to define requirements, thresholds and duration.