Are you feeling in the festive spirit? Did you know that you can treat your employees and even yourself this Christmas without being penalised by the taxman?

By using your trivial benefits allowance you can show your appreciation to your members of staff. A small gesture of appreciation can go a long way for team morale. It can make your team realise that their hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed, in turn this will increase their productivity. They’ll be even happier when they find out that there’s no tax implications for them for receiving the gift. 

What better time of year to treat your staff? Now is the perfect time. 

Before you rush off to splash the cash there’s a few things you should be aware of. HMRC will only class your gift as a trivial benefit if the following criteria is met;



1. The gift is less than £50. If the value is more than this then you can’t class any part of it as a trivial benefit.
2. You can’t give them cash or a voucher which is of a cash value.
3. It’s not something which is in their contract
4. You’re not rewarding them for their performance

There’s no limit to how many occasions throughout the year you can give out trivial benefits but there is a spend cap. The benefits cannot amount to more than £300 per employee. 

The great news is, if you’re a director of a Limited Company that has less than 5 directors, you can include yourself in this too!

Now that you’re aware of the rules, feel free to give yourself and your employees a treat this Christmas. 

This is just one of the reasons having a bookkeeper by your side is really useful. A bookkeeper will guide you through HMRC legislations and let you know what you’re entitled to when it comes to running your business. Don’t miss out on your entitlements, book a call today so we can work together in the new year.