Three ways to make the most of your tax benefits this Christmas

1. Reward your staff with Trivial Benefits of up to £50 in value

Did you know that if you reward staff with Benefits in Kind, you can save tax on these by meeting certain conditions? This means that as an employer you can buy gifts, pay for meals, or give shopping vouchers to your employees as a Trivial Benefit, exempt from tax. To find out more about Trivial Benefits click here.

 

2. Claim up to £150 per head for your Christmas party

Tax rules allow an exemption for an annual staff social event, such as a Christmas party. So if you’re planning to celebrate, you can claim the tax back on your Christmas party costs, up to a maximum of £150 per head. To find out more about claiming tax back on your Christmas party click here.

 

3. Tick the ‘Gift Aid’ box on your charity donations

Most people know that the Gift Aid scheme allows charities to claim back the tax you’ve paid on your donation at 20%. However, if you’re a higher rate taxpayer you pay 40% tax. This means that you yourself can claim the difference between the basic rate of tax claimed by the charity through the Gift Aid scheme, and the higher rate of tax that you pay. To find out more about claiming back Gift Aid click here.

 

But remember….

 If you give your staff Christmas Bonus these are subject to tax and Class 1 National Insurance, as they count as part of the employee’s earnings. For more information click here.

 

If you need advice on how best to make the most of your tax benefits this Christmas, contact a member of our team.