I know half of you will already have your Christmas plans and shopping sorted, wrapped and hidden away. And the other half are much like me and wont even consider it until December hits.
For the second half of us, I know talking about Christmas at the start of November is a bit jarring, but its worth it for reducing your tax bills I promise.
First thing to think about this time of year is your staff entertainment allowance. Don’t forget your lovely £150 per head budget that you can spend on staff parties, meals, etc. It’s a great way to treat your employees.
Your team can bring plus ones to the party, and you still get £150 per head. If you haven’t booked something in already you might be looking at a Mid March christmas party now, but its worth remembering! Don’t miss out on the tax efficient way to have a fun time.
Trivial benefits are your lovely £50 a go treat time. If you’re panicking about affording your christmas shopping then why not buy a £50 gift voucher through the business. You can either use it for shopping or just give it as a gift. Remember as a director you can take 6 of these a year.
Trivial benefits cannot be cash, gift vouchers tend to be a good bet. You can also give these to your team throughout the year. Feeling nice? Give your team a little trivial benefit treat. These could be bottles, flowers, vouchers. Just not cash! A great way to reward your employees.
Want to give your customers, suppliers, contractors a little something as well? It does get trickier here for it to be a tax allowable expense.
HMRC allows you to claim a business gift worth up to £50 to any one person in any one tax year. However, these gifts must be business related (for example a business/work diary) and must not be food, booze or tobacco.
Similarly, the gift must not be vouchers which can be exchanged for food, alcohol or tobacco. The gift must also contain an advertisement for your business, such as the company logo, in order for it to be recognised as a corporate gift. Maybe some nice socks to hand out to everyone to remind them of you?
Hopefully that helps with your ideas to get through the festive season without crying every time you look at your bank account. And of course your friends and family will love hoodies with your logo on as their present this year.
As always, any questions queries or quandaries just let us know.
