Albania does not have a tax-free allowance for employee gifts. That wasn't always the case, but it is now. Since 1 January 2024, a tax reform rewrote the rules for benefits in kind, and if you're planning a gifting programme based on the old law, or on how a neighbouring country handles it, that assumption is now outdated. Here's what actually applies.
Why every employee gift is now taxable
Until the end of 2023, Albania's income tax law dated back to 1998, and under it in-kind benefits to employees were largely untaxed in practice. That changed with Law 29/2023 "On Income Tax," which replaced the old law entirely and took effect on 1 January 2024. Under the new law, any benefit in kind an employer gives an employee, a gift, a holiday hamper, branded merchandise, a voucher, is treated as taxable employment income, valued at market price.
There's no cash-versus-in-kind distinction anymore, no annual threshold to plan around, and no excess-only mechanic where only the amount above a limit gets taxed. It's fully taxable from the first lek. The only exemptions sit on a short, closed list: workplace perks available to all employees equally (food, drinks, or equipment provided on the premises), reimbursement of genuine travel expenses, hardship or illness compensation, and employer contributions to insurance. None of those cover a discretionary gift.
This is the single most important thing to understand about gifting in Albania right now: the question isn't "how much can we give before it becomes taxable." In Albania, since 2024, it's taxable from the first lek, regardless of amount.
No holiday or occasion-based exception
Some countries carve out an exemption for Christmas, New Year, or children's gifts specifically. Albania does not. There's no occasion-based exception anywhere in Law 29/2023. A gift given at year-end, for a work anniversary, or for no occasion at all is taxed under exactly the same general rule described above. Timing and framing don't change the tax treatment.
A different law you might see referenced
Albania does have a separate 15% flat gift and inheritance tax, with exemptions for close family and a de minimis threshold of ALL 1,000,000 (roughly €10,700) for movable property. It's easy to see that number and assume it applies to a company handing out branded merchandise, but it doesn't. That regime governs transfers of wealth between individuals, private and family gifts, inheritance, not compensation an employer pays an employee. Employer-to-employee gifting is governed by Law 29/2023 and taxed as employment income, as described above. The two regimes are separate, and conflating them is one of the more common mistakes we see.
12 gift ideas
Since there's no tax-free number to design a programme around in Albania, the more useful approach is picking gifts that are genuinely well made, and budgeting for the fact that their market value will be added to the recipient's taxable income. Here are 12 branded merchandise options, priced in ALL, with materials, branding methods, and minimum order quantities.
1. Hoodie – The Rex
A heavyweight 280 gsm organic cotton hoodie that gets worn long after any gifting occasion is forgotten, and one of the most popular items in the catalogue.
- Material: 90% organic cotton, 10% polyester.
- Branding: embroidery, print, or patches.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from 3,748 ALL/unit.
2. Sports Socks
A low-cost, high-smile item that works well for a whole-team gesture without much per-head budget.
- Material: 80% cotton, 17% polyamide, 3% elastane.
- Branding: knitted-in logo zones.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from 374 ALL/unit.
3. Recycled Steel Bottle
A double-walled bottle made from recycled steel: genuinely useful, and a sustainability talking point in one gift.
- Material: recycled stainless steel.
- Branding: laser engraving or print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from 1,029 ALL/unit.
4. A5 Notebook
A well-made notebook still earns its place on most desks, whether for meeting notes or as a simple desk accessory.
- Material: FSC-certified paper, PU cover.
- Branding: debossed or printed logo on the cover.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from 428 ALL/unit.
5. Premium Tote Bag
A sturdy tote leaves the office with people, on the commute, at the market, giving the branding real visibility relative to its price.
- Material: 270gsm cotton.
- Branding: print or custom straps.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from 602 ALL/unit.
6. Knitted Scarf
A genuinely useful winter gift, with woven branding that reads as a step above a printed logo.
- Material: 80% viscose, 20% polyester.
- Branding: woven label.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from 716 ALL/unit.
7. Baseball Cap
A reliable pick for outdoor events and company outings; an embroidered logo tends to look more premium than the price tag suggests.
- Material: 100% cotton.
- Branding: embroidery.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from 780 ALL/unit.
8. Espresso Mug
A good espresso mug earns daily use at the office coffee machine, putting a logo somewhere people see multiple times a day.
- Material: glazed ceramic, dishwasher and microwave safe.
- Branding: printed or laser-etched logo.
- Order: MOQ 108 · from 789 ALL/unit.
9. Bamboo Tea Bottle
A bamboo exterior over a durable stainless steel interior gives a warmer look than an all-metal bottle, and works well as a mid-range gift.
- Material: stainless steel, bamboo.
- Branding: laser engraving or print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from 1,749 ALL/unit.
10. RollTop Backpack
A water-resistant backpack with a laptop compartment that quickly becomes someone's everyday bag: a natural pick for a bigger single gift, such as a milestone anniversary.
- Material: GRS-certified recycled PU, water-resistant.
- Branding: print or embroidery.
- Order: MOQ 25 · from 2,297 ALL/unit.
11. Noise-Cancelling Headphones
A genuine step up in perceived value, and one of the pricier items on this list, so it's best reserved for a milestone gift rather than a routine one, especially since its full value counts toward taxable income either way.
- Material: recycled ABS, ANC + ENC, foldable.
- Branding: digital print or doming.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from 2,287 ALL/unit.
View Noise-Cancelling Headphones →
12. Wireless Powerbank
A magnetic wireless powerbank in recycled ABS plastic is genuinely useful for any commute or business trip, and a practical mid-range choice.
- Material: recycled ABS plastic.
- Branding: pad print or digital print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from 1,720 ALL/unit.
What about client gifts?
Client and business-partner gifts sit under a different rule again. For Albania's corporate income tax (15% CIT rate), "gifts and donations" as a category are generally non-deductible. What is deductible, within a limit, is representation and hospitality expenses, and in practice that's the category that covers a modest client gift given as part of business hospitality.
The representation/hospitality deduction is capped at 0.3% of annual company revenue. It's an excess-only mechanic: amounts within that 0.3% ceiling stay deductible even if the broader representation category runs over elsewhere. There's no separate per-gift value cap sitting on top of that percentage limit.
VAT on small-value gifts
There is a VAT carve-out worth knowing about, but it's easy to misapply. Gifts of small value, under ALL 2,000 (roughly €21), given free of charge to regular or potential customers for promotional purposes, are not treated as a taxable deemed supply. It comes with a cliff-edge, though: if the item's value exceeds ALL 2,000, the entire value becomes taxable, not just the amount above the threshold. It's also limited to one item per beneficiary per calendar year.
That rule is written for customer and prospect gifts, promotional giveaways meant to build goodwill with people outside the company. Its application to employee gifts specifically is unconfirmed, and it likely doesn't apply: merchandise handed to staff more plausibly falls under the general rule that goods taken from stock for personal use count as a taxable supply. If VAT treatment of employee merchandise matters for your planning, that's worth confirming with a local Albanian advisor rather than assuming the small-gift carve-out covers it.
Common mistakes
- Assuming pre-2024 rules still apply. They don't. Under the old 1998 law, in-kind benefits were largely untaxed in practice, but Law 29/2023 replaced that from 1 January 2024, and benefits in kind are now fully taxable employment income from the first lek.
- Confusing the general 15% personal gift and inheritance tax with employer gifting rules. That regime, with its close-family exemptions and ALL 1,000,000 de minimis, governs transfers between individuals, not compensation an employer pays an employee. Employer gifting is taxed separately, under the income tax law.
- Assuming the ALL 2,000 VAT small-gift threshold applies to employee gifts. It's written for gifts to customers and prospects, not staff, and its application to employee merchandise is unconfirmed.
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Albanian tax law changes, and individual circumstances vary, so confirm the current rules with a local tax advisor before running a gifting programme.
Planning a gifting programme for your Albanian team? Talk to Sunday about sourcing, branding, and shipping any of the items above, from a single small batch to a company-wide rollout.
