Germany doesn't have one tax-free gift allowance for employers, it has three, and they get confused constantly. The €50/month Sachbezug, the €60 Aufmerksamkeiten allowance, and the €50/year Kundengeschenke rule for clients each cover a different situation, come from different parts of the tax code, and can't be swapped for one another. This article walks through all three so you can see exactly which one applies, and how far each one stretches.
The €50/month Sachbezug
Under §8 Abs. 2 Satz 11 EStG, employers can give employees small in-kind (non-cash) benefits worth up to €50 per employee per month, free of income tax and social security contributions. This is the workhorse allowance for regular employee perks, gift boxes, small merchandise drops, subscriptions, and similar recurring benefits.
- It's a Freigrenze, not a Freibetrag. This is a cliff-edge threshold: if the value of benefits in a given month exceeds €50, even by a single cent, the entire amount becomes taxable, not just the excess. There is no partial exemption once you go over.
- Must be non-cash. Cash and cash-equivalents don't qualify. A restricted-use voucher or prepaid card is fine as long as it cannot be converted to cash and meets the criteria under §2 Abs. 1 Nr. 10 ZAG (for example, usable only at a closed merchant network or for a specific category of goods). A general-purpose gift card or anything that functions like cash does not qualify.
- It's a monthly allowance. The €50 resets every month. Under specific carry-forward rules, up to two months' worth of unused allowance can accumulate, but for most employers the cleanest way to think about it is simply "up to €50 a month in gifts or perks."
The €60 Aufmerksamkeiten allowance
Separately, R 19.6 LStR allows employers to give an employee a gift of goods (not cash) worth up to €60, including VAT, per occasion, tax and social-security free. This is the allowance for personal milestones: a birthday, a wedding, the birth of a child, and similar occasions tied to the employee themselves.
Two things trip people up here:
- It's separate from, and in addition to, the €50/month Sachbezug. A birthday gift under the €60 Aufmerksamkeiten allowance doesn't eat into that month's Sachbezug budget, and vice versa. They can both apply in the same month.
- It's an employee rule, not a client rule. This is the most common mix-up: Aufmerksamkeiten applies to gifts given to employees for their own personal occasions. It is not the rule that governs gifts to customers or business contacts, even though the two get conflated often enough that it's worth stating plainly. Client gifts follow an entirely different rule, covered below.
As with the Sachbezug, this is also a cliff-edge threshold: exceed €60 on a single occasion-based gift and the full amount becomes taxable, not just the portion above €60.
12 gift ideas that fit under €50
Because the Sachbezug is the tightest of the three employee-facing limits, and the one employers reach for most often for recurring gifting, the 12 products below are priced to fit comfortably under it on their own.
1. Hoodie – The Rex: the flagship piece
A heavyweight 280 gsm organic cotton hoodie that employees actually wear, and one of the most popular gifting items in the catalogue, with room to spare under €50.
- Material: 90% organic cotton, 10% polyester.
- Branding: embroidery, print, or patches.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €40.09/unit.
2. RollTop Backpack: the everyday bag
A water-resistant backpack with a laptop compartment that quickly becomes someone's everyday bag, and still leaves headroom under the €50 Freigrenze.
- Material: GRS-certified recycled PU, water-resistant.
- Branding: print or embroidery.
- Order: MOQ 25 · from €24.57/unit.
3. Noise-Cancelling Headphones: the premium pick
The highest-value pick on this list, and still comfortably inside the €50 monthly allowance on its own.
- Material: recycled ABS, ANC + ENC, foldable.
- Branding: digital print or doming.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from €24.46/unit.
4. Bamboo Tea Bottle: the natural choice
A bamboo exterior over a durable stainless steel interior, a warmer-looking alternative to an all-metal bottle.
- Material: stainless steel, bamboo.
- Branding: laser engraving or print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from €18.70/unit.
5. Wireless Powerbank: useful everyday tech
A magnetic wireless powerbank in recycled ABS plastic, genuinely useful for any commute or business trip, well within the monthly limit.
- Material: recycled ABS plastic.
- Branding: pad print or digital print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from €18.39/unit.
6. Recycled Steel Bottle: everyday hydration
Vacuum insulation in recycled stainless steel, a gift that gets used and seen every day, at a price that leaves plenty of the Sachbezug allowance unused.
- Material: recycled stainless steel.
- Branding: laser engraving or print.
- Order: MOQ 50 · from €11.00/unit.
View the Recycled Steel Bottle →
7. Baseball Cap: the everyday accessory
An affordable, highly visible accessory that works all year round and stacks easily with other small perks in the same month.
- Material: 100% cotton.
- Branding: embroidery.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €8.34/unit.
8. Espresso Mug: the desk essential
A proper espresso cup for the coffee obsessives on the team, a small gift that still gets used daily.
- Material: ceramic.
- Branding: debossed or printed logo.
- Order: MOQ 108 · from €8.44/unit.
9. Premium Tote Bag: the lightweight carry
A heavyweight cotton tote with a premium feel, everyday enough to actually get used, and comfortably under the monthly limit.
- Material: 270gsm cotton.
- Branding: print or custom straps.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €6.44/unit.
10. Knitted Scarf: the cosy extra
A high perceived-value item for a winter or year-end gift, priced well inside the €50 ceiling.
- Material: 80% viscose, 20% polyester.
- Branding: woven label.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €7.66/unit.
11. A5 Notebook: FSC-certified paper
An A5 hardcover with elastic closure and ribbon marker, practical with a traceable material story, and one of the lowest-cost items on this list.
- Material: FSC-certified paper, PU cover.
- Branding: debossing or print on the cover.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €4.58/unit.
12. Sports Socks: the safe favourite
Sunday's most-ordered item, a small, unexpected gift that always lands well, and leaves almost the entire Sachbezug allowance untouched.
- Material: 80% cotton, 17% polyamide, 3% elastane.
- Branding: knitted-in logo zones.
- Order: MOQ 100 · from €4.00/unit.
What about client gifts?
Gifts to clients and other business contacts follow a third, completely separate rule: Kundengeschenke. Under §4 Abs. 5 Satz 1 Nr. 1 EStG, gifts to a client are deductible as a business expense only if the total value given to that recipient does not exceed €50 (net, excluding VAT) per calendar year. As with the two employee-facing allowances, this is a cliff-edge threshold: go even slightly over €50 for one recipient in the year, and the entire gift loses its deductibility, not just the amount above €50.
There's an added compliance burden here too: to claim the deduction at all, businesses must keep separate, precise records identifying each recipient by name, so the €50/year total per person can actually be verified. Loose or aggregated records won't hold up.
Want a deeper dive into each individual rule? Read our detailed German-language guides: the €50 Sachbezug, the €60 Aufmerksamkeiten allowance, and deducting client gifts.
Common mistakes
- Confusing Sachbezug with Aufmerksamkeiten. The €50/month Sachbezug is a general recurring allowance for any small in-kind benefit; the €60 Aufmerksamkeiten allowance is specifically tied to a personal occasion like a birthday or wedding. Treating them as interchangeable, or assuming one replaces the other, leads to miscalculated tax-free budgets.
- Assuming Aufmerksamkeiten applies to clients. It doesn't. The €60 occasion-based allowance is an employee rule. Gifts to customers and business contacts fall under the separate €50/year Kundengeschenke rule, with its own conditions.
- Forgetting the per-recipient record-keeping requirement for client gifts. The €50/year Kundengeschenke deduction only holds up if the business can show, recipient by recipient, that the annual total per person stayed under the threshold. Without that record, the deduction can be disallowed even if the actual spend was within limits.
Note: this article is a general explainer, not tax advice. Thresholds and rules can change — confirm how they apply to your business with your accountant or Steuerberater.
Order gifts for your team
Every product above is fully customisable with your branding and available in business order quantities. Browse the full range in the Sunday catalogue to put together a gifting programme that stays comfortably within Germany's tax-free thresholds.
