A RuPay prepaid meal card loaded by the employer every month. ₹200 per meal, two meals a day, for every working day (₹8,800 at 22 days, ₹10,400 at 26) — nil perquisite value under Rule 15(5)(a), Income Tax Rules 2026. Old and new tax regime.
A corporate meal card (also called a food card, meal voucher card or employee meal card) is a prepaid card an employer loads for food and grocery spending. Because the amount is treated as a meal provided by the employer, it carries nil perquisite value up to ₹200 per meal — so it is not taxed in the employee's hands. The company carves the amount out of the existing CTC, so its cost does not change; the employee's take-home rises.
Rule 15(5)(a), Income Tax Rules 2026 (effective 1 April 2026, under the Income Tax Act 2025): free meals or paid vouchers provided during working hours, up to ₹200 per meal, are valued at nil. The earlier limit was ₹50 under Rule 3(7)(iii) of the 1962 rules, and that old rule barred new-regime employees. The 2026 rule has no such bar — the meal card works under both the old and the new tax regime.
Illustrative. Employer sets the final limit. Not tax advice.
Anywhere RuPay prepaid cards are accepted at food and grocery merchants: Swiggy, Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, BigBasket, DMart, Reliance Smart, restaurants, office canteens and the local kirana. The wallet is locked to food-and-grocery merchant categories, so there is no misuse and no bill collection. Unused meal balance carries forward and never expires at year end.
Yes. From 1 April 2026, Rule 15(5)(a) of the Income Tax Rules 2026 treats employer-provided meals up to ₹200 per meal as a nil-value perquisite with no exclusion for new-regime employees.
₹200 per meal, two meals a day on working days — ₹8,800 a month for 22 days, ₹1,05,600 a year.
Yes. The YPayX meal wallet works at food and grocery merchants — supermarkets, quick-commerce apps and kirana stores — not only restaurants.
No. Meal wallet balance carries forward across months and financial years.
Nothing is added to CTC — the meal amount is carved out of existing salary. YPayX charges ₹400 per employee, one-time, for the card. No annual fee, no hidden charges.
A meal allowance paid in cash is fully taxable. The same amount loaded on a meal card is nil-valued up to ₹200 per meal, so the employee keeps the whole amount.
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