At Harold Sharp, we understand the importance of offering valuable benefits to your employees while maintaining tax efficiency.
We know that even small, sundry benefits can significantly enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty (we looked at this in some detail in our previous Tax Tuesday on trivial benefits). When these ‘little extras’ are free of Income Tax and National Insurance, the cost becomes much more manageable for business owners.
The full list of tax efficient benefits is long and there are some items which fall in the more obscure category. However, there are several benefits which do warrant some consideration as you look to retain and grow your headcount.
In this week’s Tax Tuesday, we take a brief look at some of the most relevant tax-efficient benefits that you may consider providing to your employees (and yourself).
Key tax-efficient benefits for business owners to consider:
Mobile phones (handset, contract, all calls)
Providing mobile phones can be a highly attractive benefit-in-kind. It’s essential to choose the right hardware and set usage boundaries. This benefit is particularly convenient when business usage is essential.
Pension contributions
Employer-made pension contributions offer significant tax advantages. We’ve looked at the benefits of Salary Exchange in a previous Tax Tuesday here. These arrangements provide valuable National Insurance savings for both employees and employers.
Trivial benefits
Employers can give numerous small benefits of up to £50 without being taxed, provided they are not rewards for work and are not exchangeable for cash (e.g. retail vouchers). Directors/shareholders cannot receive trivial benefits worth more than £300 in a tax year. See: What is a trivial benefit? for more on trivial benefits.
Annual parties
Up to £150 per employee per year for annual parties is tax-free (examples include Christmas parties / Summer BBQs). Be cautious not to exceed this amount though, or the entire cost becomes taxable.
Transportation
When it comes to transportation, there are a vast number of tax efficient / tax free benefits to consider. Below is a start point, but by no means an exhaustive list:
- Low emission cars: If your company car has CO2 emissions of less than 50g/km, the value of the car is based on its zero-emission mileage figure or ‘electric range’. This is the distance the car can go on electric power before its batteries need recharging.
- Vans: The benefit-in-kind for vans is modest and electric vans used for business and commuting are tax-free.
- Bicycles: Bikes and safety equipment can be loaned tax-free if used for commuting.
- Fuel: Allowances up to 45p per mile for business use of personal cars are tax-free for the first 10,000 miles annually – it’s 25p per mile thereafter. Note that Mileage Allowance Payments are lower for motorcycles and bikes.
- Electricity: Costs of recharging company cars are tax-free. Employees can also charge their own cars tax-free at work.
- Parking: Workplace parking provided to employees is tax-free.
Interest-free loans
Loans up to £10,000 per tax year are free of taxable benefits, assisting employees with cash flow and managing marginal tax exposures.
Meals and drinks at work
Meals provided on business or in a general employee canteen are tax-free, if reasonable. Meal vouchers remain tax-free at 15p per working day, though their value is minimal. The exemption applies whatever the level of the employee’s income.
How can we help?
While this is not an exhaustive list, we believe these benefits can be highly relevant and valuable to our clients. For further details or to discuss the practicalities, please contact your usual relationship principal, email us at tax@haroldsharp.co.uk or call 0161 905 1616.