Health Insurance Funding & Tax

Does health insurance cover workplace health promotion (BGF) measures — and how do you access it?

Under German law, statutory health insurers fund workplace health promotion projects under Section 20b SGB V — one measure, a health day, or an annual budget, never an amount per head and with no entitlement. Separately, an employer's health benefits stay tax-free up to €600/employee/year under Section 3 No. 34 EStG (an allowance, not a subsidy) if they are certified or part of a structured health promotion process; on top of that comes the €50 benefit-in-kind (Section 8 EStG). BGF-Kompass and EasyBGM deliver the process — only your tax advisor can confirm the tax exemption.

Insurer, course reimbursement, tax allowance, benefit-in-kind — separate paths at a glance

Path	Legal Basis	Amount / Condition	Proof Point in the Ecosystem
Funding from the health insurer	Section 20b SGB V	A sum per project (one measure, a health day, an annual budget) — no amount per head, no entitlement; the basis is a structured process per the Prevention Guide	BGF-Kompass/EasyBGM document the process
Course reimbursement for insured members	Section 20 SGB V	The insurer can reimburse its insured members for ZPP-certified prevention courses in full or in part — individual prevention, not workplace health promotion funding for the company	Upfit (ZPP-certified)
Tax-free employer benefit (allowance)	Section 3 No. 34 EStG	Up to €600 per employee/year tax- and social-security-free — a ceiling, not a subsidy; for certified courses or measures within a structured health promotion process (action areas per the Prevention Guide); only a tax advisor can confirm it	BGF-Kompass/EasyBGM deliver exactly this process
Tax-free benefit-in-kind	Section 8 EStG	Up to €50 per employee/month	Move Republic vouchers/STARS (compliant with benefit-in-kind rules)
Fallback once the benefit-in-kind allowance is used up	Section 37b / Section 8 (3) EStG	30% flat-rate taxation of non-cash bonuses, or the discount allowance	—

Section 20b SGB V: What health insurers fund

Under Section 20b SGB V, Germany's statutory health insurers provide workplace health promotion services in the workplace setting. They fund projects — one measure, a health day, or an annual budget — never a fixed amount per employee. The company has no entitlement, and Section 20b does not provide for any certification at all; the basis is a structured process per the GKV Prevention Guide.

This must be kept separate from individual, behavior-based prevention courses under Section 20 SGB V: for these, certification by the Central Prevention Review Body (ZPP) is the decisive proof. In the Nexus ecosystem, for example, Upfit's courses meet this ZPP certification — the health insurer can then reimburse its insured members for the course fee in full or in part. That's course reimbursement for insured members, not funding for the company. Whether an insurer funds a project also depends on how many of your employees it insures — no process changes that. But a documented process with metrics makes a conversation on equal footing with your insurer possible.

Section 3 No. 34 EStG: An Allowance of Up to €600 — the Structured Process Replaces the Certificate

Under Section 3 No. 34 EStG (German tax law), an employer's health promotion benefits are tax- and social-security-free up to €600 per employee per year — in addition to the wages already owed, not via salary conversion. That's an allowance, not a subsidy: the employer pays for the benefit itself. And the €600 is a ceiling, not a target — in practice, a fraction is often enough.

What matters: there are two paths. First, certified individual courses of behavior-based prevention (Section 20 (5) SGB V, ZPP). Second — and this is the underrated path — workplace health promotion in the company setting: here, not every single measure has to be certified. It's enough for it to be part of a structured workplace health promotion process aligned with the action areas of the Prevention Guide — with a needs analysis and employee involvement.

In concrete terms: once your measures are embedded in a documented health promotion process (needs analysis → planning → implementation → evaluation), they don't need to be certified to stay tax-free. BGF-Kompass and EasyBGM deliver exactly this process — structured, aligned with the action areas, and transparently documented. In the end, only your tax advisor can confirm the tax exemption; the documentation puts them in a position to do so.

The 6-phase BGM process as a prerequisite

The Prevention Guide describes workplace health promotion (BGF) as a managed process. Documenting it lays the groundwork for the tax benefit — and makes the impact visible to leadership and the health insurer.

1. Preparation
2. Structure setup
3. Analysis (e.g., maturity check, employee survey)
4. Planning (measures per action area)
5. Implementation
6. Evaluation (metrics, annual report)

How to proceed — step by step

Insurer, tax allowance, and benefit-in-kind are separate paths that complement each other. In practice, this order has proven effective:

Choose measures — your own within the process or ZPP-certified courses (e.g., Upfit nutrition coaching).
Document the process — BGF-Kompass guides you through analysis, planning, and evaluation.
Talk to the health insurer about project funding under Section 20b SGB V — no entitlement, but with a documented process a conversation on equal footing.
Separately: run your own employer benefit of up to €600 per employee per year tax-free through payroll under Section 3 No. 34 EStG — after confirmation by your tax advisor, with certificates of attendance as records for the payroll account.
Optionally add non-cash bonuses of up to €50/month under Section 8 EStG (e.g., Move Republic vouchers).

Quick check

What's your company's workplace-health maturity?

Your maturity level decides whether your measures qualify for the tax-free €600 budget. Answer in 3 minutes — no sign-up.

Start maturity check (3 min.)

Related measures & topics

Key takeaways

The key to tax exemption under Section 3 No. 34 EStG is the structured health promotion process — not necessarily individual certification.
Section 3 No. 34 EStG: up to €600/employee/year tax-free — an allowance and a ceiling, not a subsidy; only your tax advisor can confirm it.
Section 20b SGB V: separately, statutory health insurers fund projects — no amounts per head, no entitlement. ZPP courses such as Upfit's can be reimbursed to insured members under Section 20 SGB V.
Section 8 EStG: additionally, a €50/month tax-free benefit-in-kind.
BGF-Kompass and EasyBGM deliver exactly this process — the basis for the tax exemption and for a conversation on equal footing with your insurer.

Frequently asked questions

How much can an employer's health promotion benefit be tax-free?+

Up to €600 per employee per year under Section 3 No. 34 EStG (German tax law) — tax- and social-security-free, provided the measure is certified or part of a workplace health promotion process per the Prevention Guide. That's an allowance and a ceiling, not a subsidy; only your tax advisor can confirm the tax exemption.

Does health insurance cover the cost of BGF?+

It can — with no entitlement. Under Section 20b SGB V, statutory health insurers fund workplace health promotion projects: one measure, a health day, or an annual budget, not an amount per head. No certification is provided for this; the basis is a structured process. Separately, the insurer can reimburse its insured members for ZPP-certified courses under Section 20 SGB V (e.g., Upfit's courses).

What's required for tax exemption under Section 3 No. 34 EStG?+

The benefit must be provided in addition to the wages already owed, and the measure must be certified or part of a workplace health promotion process per the Prevention Guide (6 phases). The BGF-Kompass/EasyBGM platform manages exactly this process. Only your tax advisor can confirm the tax exemption.

Do all measures need to be ZPP-certified to be tax-free?+

No. For workplace health promotion in the company setting, it's enough for the measures to be part of a structured workplace health promotion process aligned with the action areas of the Prevention Guide — they can then stay tax-free up to the allowance under Section 3 No. 34 EStG. There's also the path via certified individual courses (Section 20 (5) SGB V/ZPP). BGF-Kompass and EasyBGM deliver the structured process.

What applies in addition to the €600 allowance?+

Independently, non-cash bonuses of up to €50/month can be granted tax-free under Section 8 EStG (e.g., vouchers). Once the benefit-in-kind allowance is used up, the 30% flat-rate taxation under Section 37b EStG applies.

Set Up BGF in a Structured Way — with BGF-Kompass

BGF-Kompass manages the health promotion process according to the Prevention Guide so your tax advisor can confirm the tax exemption of your measures under Section 3 No. 34 EStG — including ZPP-certified partners like Upfit.

Check Your BGF Maturity in 3 Min View Measures

Sources

Last updated: 2026-06-17. Not legal or tax advice — have your specific case reviewed by a professional.

Measuring BGF ImpactIs BGF really worth it — and how do I measure it?Boost participation rateWhy is nobody using my workplace health promotion (BGF) offers — and what actually helps?