Reply to: Christmas Parties.....

[CanPayButWouldRatherNot]

that's what my accountant said.
Not sure if it's company year or personal year though. So I'll wait till April and setup a standing order.
I did 12 payments of £50 (2 x directors)

/sets up bi monthly "trivial payments"/ cheers Lance

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

And looks like you can only give them to employees i.e. director in our case, and not to shareholders i.e. the Mrs.

I think you can give them to family members but they are treated as if the director received the gift so it counts towards their limit.

[Lance]

And looks like you can only give them to employees i.e. director in our case, and not to shareholders i.e. the Mrs.

she's a director.
Accountant says all good.

As for lumping them all at the year end. Not ideal but timings....

[Old Greg]

Ordered my €500 gift card. Can spend it in the supermarket. Done.

Just checked out the Irish Revenue guidance:

Seasonal parties and other inclusive events

You may decide to provide seasonal parties, special occasion meals or other inclusive events, such as sports days, for your employees. The cost of these events are not taxable BIKs, provided the expenses are reasonable and available to all employees.

[northernladuk]

Obvious to some people but going by some of the stuff we see posted on the forum it wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to give a voucher to their dog.

So why not be a bit more direct with your statement rather than 'It looks like...?'

[ChimpMaster]

Erm... well obviously surely?

Obvious to some people but going by some of the stuff we see posted on the forum it wouldn't surprise me if someone tried to give a voucher to their dog.

[northernladuk]

And looks like you can only give them to employees i.e. director in our case, and not to shareholders i.e. the Mrs.

Erm... well obviously surely?

[ChimpMaster]

And they've got to be spread out. Buying six £50 vouchers in the last month of your financial years doesn't look good.

And looks like you can only give them to employees i.e. director in our case, and not to shareholders i.e. the Mrs.

[northernladuk]

Amazon vouchers. As good as cash to be honest the amount I spend with Amazon.

And they've got to be spread out. Buying six £50 vouchers in the last month of your financial years doesn't look good.

[ladymuck]

Amazon vouchers. As good as cash to be honest the amount I spend with Amazon.

But....

The statutory exemption lays out certain criteria that must be met in order to be counted as a trivial benefit which ensure that:

• The benefit is not cash or a cash voucher
• The cost to provide does not exceed £50
• The benefit is not provided as a contractual entitlement
• The benefit is not provided in return for a normal service (or services) expected by the employee – eg hitting a pre-set performance target

Common examples seen include a gift of flowers on a birthday, a turkey at Christmas, or a modest layette on the birth of a child. More than one trivial benefit can be provided during the year; however, where the employer is a close company and the trivial benefits are given to a director, office holder or members of their families or households, an annual limit of £300 exists.


EDIT: Oh...Interesting, it seems that a gift voucher is not a cash voucher...

EIM21866 - Employment Income Manual - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK

[Lance]

So you can literally pay yourself cash? (I mean bank transfer )

Amazon vouchers. As good as cash to be honest the amount I spend with Amazon.

[ChimpMaster]

that's what my accountant said.
Not sure if it's company year or personal year though. So I'll wait till April and setup a standing order.
I did 12 payments of £50 (2 x directors)

So you can literally pay yourself cash? (I mean bank transfer )

[Lance]

Do you account for it somewhere special so it's obvious that's what it is?

haha.. No. Sundries. As the accountant asked. I've titled it trivial benefit though.

[ladymuck]

that's what my accountant said.
Not sure if it's company year or personal year though. So I'll wait till April and setup a standing order.
I did 12 payments of £50 (2 x directors)

Do you account for it somewhere special so it's obvious that's what it is?

[Lance]

I've never used the Trivial Benefit allowance before.

Is this in addition to the Annual Event £150 allowance?

And can we have multiple trivial benefits of max £50 each, up to a £300 annual limit?

where the employer is a close company and the trivial benefits are given to a director, office holder or members of their families or households, an annual limit of £300 exists.

that's what my accountant said.
Not sure if it's company year or personal year though. So I'll wait till April and setup a standing order.
I did 12 payments of £50 (2 x directors)