Originally posted by TheCyclingProgrammer
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Trivial Benefit: any rule to prevent *any* small expense upto £50 being tax-exempt?
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Originally posted by TheCyclingProgrammer View PostOh...so close.
Example D
Employer D provides each of its employees with a bottle of wine costing £25 at Christmas. However, as an alternative, it provides employees who do not drink alcohol with a £25 gift voucher for a national supermarket chain which they can exchange for an alternative non-alcoholic Christmas gift. Both the bottle of wine and the non-cash gift voucher can be covered by the exemption.Comment
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Originally posted by Maslins View PostI personally would feel more comfortable with this. Seems a bit more like what a "real company" would do with an "actual employee".
Taking 6 x £50 vouchers, possibly even 6 days on the trot...well, it's small enough it'd never get challenged, and superficially it is to the letter of the law...but it doesn't sit right with me.
With the ratcheting up of taxation on us, particularly on dividends and the loss of the flat rate VAT benefit (several thousand pounds per year in total) I'm being more particular about taking advantage of things that I might previously have passed up.Comment
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Originally posted by TheCyclingProgrammer View PostI'm not sure how this makes any sense.
It doesn't qualify as a trivial gift as it's a voucher and cash vouchers aren't allowed.
I fail to see how it qualifies as an "annual event" (or three "annual events") either.Make Mercia Great Again!Comment
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Originally posted by Maslins View PostI personally would feel more comfortable with this. Seems a bit more like what a "real company" would do with an "actual employee".
Taking 6 x £50 vouchers, possibly even 6 days on the trot...well, it's small enough it'd never get challenged, and superficially it is to the letter of the law...but it doesn't sit right with me.Comment
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Do these accountants have moral issues with withdrawing salary up to the NI limit to the nearest £ and taking dividends to the higher tax limit to the nearest £?
Is taking 6*£50 of trivial benefits not being equally efficient?Comment
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Originally posted by l35kee View PostNot superficially, it actually is to the letter of the law. So as it is completely above board, is it a moral objection?
Benefiting from something doesn't necessarily mean trying to get every single penny you can from it.
Plus from a practical perspective, if at any point during the year you spend 1p on something personal and claim it, your company has now paid £300.01 on trivial things for the director, it's above £300, so the whole amount is taxable. Same with the £150/head staff entertaining thing...what if you slightly miscalculate and after tip it ends up at £151. Or the director loan, where you take the full £10k, but one month you take your salary the day before it was technically due...then you've (albeit temporarily) breached the £10k. In reality, you're probably not going to get caught, but the more you're exploiting every penny you can get, to my mind the more likely HMRC are to look carefully.
Everyone's got different views on these things, and some will think I'm pathetic/over cautious/whatever, that's fine. Horses for courses. My view, get the big wins, but don't devote much of your time to chasing every penny of tax relief available. Far better things to focus on IMHO.Comment
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Originally posted by Maslins View PostPlus from a practical perspective, if at any point during the year you spend 1p on something personal and claim it, your company has now paid £300.01 on trivial things for the director, it's above £300, so the whole amount is taxable.Comment
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Originally posted by Maslins View PostMy view, get the big wins, but don't devote much of your time to chasing every penny of tax relief available. Far better things to focus on IMHO.Comment
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Originally posted by l35kee View PostI can understand that perspective for sure, that's different to it not sitting right though. Sounded like you thought it was ripping the tax man off and morally that didn't sit well with you :PComment
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