Employee Benefits

Where an employee with a company car is provided with fuel for their own private use by their employers, the default position is that the employee is required to pay the car fuel benefit charge. The charge is determined by reference to the CO2 rating of the car, applied to a fixed amount, currently £23,400. For example, a vehicle with a CO2 rating of 150g/km would create a taxable benefit of £7,254. The car fuel benefit charge will increase to £24,100 for the 2019-20 tax year.

Crunch the numbers – which is lower, tax on the benefit or repay private fuel used?

The car fuel benefit charge is not applicable when the employee pays for all their private fuel, this includes commuting to and from work. Employees should keep a log of private mileage and can then use the published advisory fuel rates to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel back to their employer. In this case, HMRC will accept that there is no car fuel benefit charge and the employee will save the Income Tax charge on the private car fuel benefit. It will usually be much cheaper to repay your employer for private fuel rather than to pay the Income Tax charge especially if private mileage is relatively low.

The advisory fuel rates are intended to reflect actual average fuel costs and are updated quarterly. However, the use of the advisory fuel rates is not binding if the employer can demonstrate that employees cover the full cost of private fuel by repaying at a lower rate per mile. There is also a lower advisory rate if the company car is fully electric.

The list of company benefits that can be provided tax-free to employees is quite short. However, some of the benefits that can be provided include the following:

• Meals: Free or subsidised meals in a staff canteen where meals are provided for all employees on a reasonable (not overly extravagant) scale. The exemption does not apply where free or subsidised meals are provided as part of salary sacrifice or flexible remuneration arrangements.


• Hot drinks and water at work.


• Mobile phone: There is generally no charge to tax where for a mobile phone is provided to an employee.


• Workplace parking for an employee’s car or motorcycle, or facilities for parking bicycles at or near the employee’s place of work.


• Annual / Christmas parties: These must be open to all employees and cost less than £150 per person.


• Medical insurance or medical treatment for employees working abroad as well as one annual medical health check and / or health-screening assessment.


• Long service and suggestion scheme awards, within certain limits.

There is no requirement to pay tax on benefits and expenses covered by concessions or exemptions and they do not need to be included on a tax return.

Companies can use incentive award schemes to encourage their employees in various ways, for example, to sell more of their own goods and services. The award can take various forms including cash, vouchers or other gifts.

Where an employer meets the tax payable on a non-cash incentive award given to a direct employee by entering into a PAYE settlement agreement (PSA), the award is not chargeable to tax on the employee.

With the exception of non-cash awards covered by a PSA, incentive awards made to employees are chargeable as employment income. The value of these awards is calculated as follows:

Cash
The value to use is the total amount of cash awarded.

Vouchers
If the award consists of vouchers, then the value to use is the full cost to the provider of making the award.

Other gifts
If the award is something other than vouchers, then the charge is usually the full cost to the provider of making the award. There are certain exceptions for the very low paid.

HMRC also offer concessions on this tax treatment if employers want to reward employees using certain encouragement awards, suggestion schemes and to reward long service. 

Advisory fuel rates are intended to reflect actual average fuel costs and are updated quarterly. The rates can be used by employers who reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars or where employees are required to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel. HMRC accepts there is no taxable profit and no Class 1A National Insurance on reimbursed travel expenses where employers pay a rate per mile for business travel no higher than the published advisory fuel rates.

Employees can also use the advisory fuel rates to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel. In this case, HMRC will accept there’s no fuel benefit charge. The advisory rates are not binding. Accordingly, if an employer can demonstrate that employees cover the full cost of private fuel by repaying at a lower rate per mile, this would be accepted.

The latest advisory fuel rates became effective on 1 March 2019. Fuel rates are reviewed four times a year with changes taking effect on 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December. You can use the previous rates for up to 1 month from the date the new rates apply.

The rates are as follows:

Petrol
Engine size 1400cc or less             11p per mile
Engine size 1401cc to 2000cc        14p per mile
Over 2000cc                                21p per mile

LPG
Engine size 1400cc or less              7p per mile
Engine size 1401 to 2000cc             8p per mile
Over 2000cc                                13p per mile

Diesel
1600cc or less                             10p per mile
1601cc to 2000cc                        11p per mile
Over 2000cc                               13p per mile

Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for this purpose.

Advisory Electricity Rate

HMRC now accepts that if you pay up to 4p per mile when reimbursing your employees for business travel in a fully electric company car, there is no profit. While electricity is not considered a fuel for tax and NIC purposes, the Advisory Electricity Rate will be published quarterly alongside the other advisory fuel rates.

There are special rules involving bicycles usually referred to as ‘Cycle to Work’ arrangements. The Cycle to Work scheme was introduced almost 20 years ago to help promote the use of healthy ways to commute to work using an environmentally friendly mode of transport.

Employers of all sizes across the public, private and voluntary sectors are eligible to take part in the scheme with the proviso that no employees or groups of employees are excluded. Note that the Cycle to Work scheme cannot be used if in doing so this would reduce an employee’s gross pay below the National Minimum Wage.

The scheme allows employers to provide (technically loan) bicycles and cyclists’ safety equipment (worth up to £1,000) to employees as a tax-free benefit. Where the scheme conditions are satisfied employees can benefit from a tax and National Insurance Contribution (NIC) reduction of between 32% and 42% through a salary sacrifice scheme. In addition, there is no employer liability to NICs.

What happens at the end of the loan period?

The Cycle to Work benefits only relate to the loan period, however, it is commonplace for an employer or a third party bicycle provider to offer the employee the bicycle / equipment they have been using for sale after the loan period has ended. The bike may be offered to the employee for sale at a fair market value, but this must be done as a separate agreement.

Like to set up a "Cycle to Work" scheme for your business?

If the above scheme is something you’d like to consider for your business please call for more information.

The easiest way to ensure that no car-fuel benefit charge (for private journeys in a company car) is payable, is to use the advisory fuel rates published by HMRC to repay any private fuel costs to your employer. The advisory fuel rates are intended to reflect actual average fuel costs and are updated quarterly.

However, the car-fuel benefit charge will still be payable if it cannot be demonstrated to HMRC that the driver of the car has paid for all fuel used for private journeys, this includes commuting to and from work. To ensure that this does not occur employees will need to keep a log of private mileage.

The latest advisory fuel rates became effective on 1 December 2018. Fuel rates are reviewed four times a year with changes taking effect on 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December.

Action to take before 5 April 2019

If you have a company car and your employer pays for all your petrol you will need to work out your actual private mileage for 2018-19, multiply this by the appropriate advisory fuel rate, and pay this amount to your employer.

This will avoid being charged the expensive car-fuel benefit – in most cases the tax saved will be more than the amount of your repayment to the employer.

If in doubt, give us a call and we will help you crunch the numbers. 

There is no requirement to report certain routine expenses to HMRC. The types of expenses and benefits covered are referred to as exemptions and have replaced dispensations which no longer apply.

The business expenses and benefits that do not need to be reported (since April 2016) include: reimbursed costs to employees covering business travel, phone bills, business entertainment expenses and uniforms and tools for work. As an alternative to reimbursing the employee for actual costs incurred, HMRC’s benchmark rates or a special bespoke rate may be used. Employers only need apply for an exemption if they want to use a bespoke rate which needs to be approved by HMRC. Employers that agreed dispensations using bespoke rates prior to 6 April 2016 can continue using the bespoke rates for up to 5 years from the date they were agreed.

Employers must also ensure that they have a checking system in place to ensure that employees are making valid expenses claims. This requirement is usually satisfied by asking employees to submit or retain receipts as evidence of a valid expense claim. HMRC is clear that employees aren’t allowed to check their own expenses and that someone else within the company must be responsible to ensure a claim is legitimate.

Advisory fuel rates are intended to reflect actual average fuel costs and are updated quarterly. The rates can be used by employers who reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars or where employees are required to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel. HMRC accepts there is no taxable profit and no Class 1A National Insurance on reimbursed travel expenses where employers pay a rate per mile for business travel no higher than the published advisory fuel rates.

Employees can also use the advisory fuel rates to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel. In this case, HMRC will accept there’s no fuel benefit charge. The advisory rates are not binding if you the employer can demonstrate that employees cover the full cost of private fuel by repaying at a lower rate per mile.

The latest advisory fuel rates become effective on 1 December 2018. Fuel rates are reviewed four times a year with changes taking effect on 1 March, 1 June, 1 September and 1 December. You can use the previous rates for up to 1 month from the date the new rates apply.

The rates are as follows:

Engine size	Petrol – amount per mile	LPG – amount per mile
1400cc or less	12p	8p
1401cc to 2000cc	15p	10p
Over 2000cc	22p	15p

 

Engine size	Diesel – amount per mile
1600cc or smaller	10p
1601cc to 2000cc	12p
Over 2000cc	14p

   
Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for this purpose.

Advisory Electricity Rate

HMRC now accepts that if you pay up to 4p per mile when reimbursing your employees for business travel in a fully electric company car there is no profit. While electricity is not considered a fuel for tax and NICs purposes, the Advisory Electricity Rate will be published quarterly alongside the other advisory fuel rates.