Annual Staff Functions allowance (£150pp)

red50

Free Member
Aug 28, 2024
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Hi All,

General question about the Annual Staff function allowance of £150pp for LTD companies. This would be for me and my partner (Girlfriend not business partner).

Any idea if its acceptable purchase £300 worth of vouchers? or does the expense need to be an itemised receipt? I have just over 4 weeks until my end of financial year so would obviously benefit from using this tax free allowance.

Many Thanks!
 
Hi red50
If you mean £300 of vouchers for future entertaining then that would not help anyway because it would be a prepayment as a current asset on the balance sheet and therefore strictly speaking should make no difference to your tax bill in this financial year.
 
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Hi All,

General question about the Annual Staff function allowance of £150pp for LTD companies. This would be for me and my partner (Girlfriend not business partner).

Any idea if its acceptable purchase £300 worth of vouchers? or does the expense need to be an itemised receipt? I have just over 4 weeks until my end of financial year so would obviously benefit from using this tax free allowance.

Many Thanks!
I think it may help if you change the perspective. This isn't a tax free allowance, it's more of a concession by HMRC. You can only use it if you have a staff function and you would have to spend £150 per person to save £28.50 in tax. If you exceed £150 you pay BIK on the whole amount (the concession is the exemption from BIK).

Have a look at trivial benefits for yourself which will give you exactly what you want.
 
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Hi All,

General question about the Annual Staff function allowance of £150pp for LTD companies. This would be for me and my partner (Girlfriend not business partner).

Any idea if its acceptable purchase £300 worth of vouchers? or does the expense need to be an itemised receipt? I have just over 4 weeks until my end of financial year so would obviously benefit from using this tax free allowance.

Many Thanks!
There are two separate allowances you can consider here, trivial benefits and annual parties, they are both allowable expenses for company with no BIK implications for the employee / director.

Trivial benefits is capped at £300 per employee / director and parties allowances at £150 per employee / director.

You can buy vouchers / gifts to claim trivial benefits allowance but not for parties allowance.
 
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Its a lot of sandwiches for two 😁 .........I can see there is going to be a lot more of these posts as the festive season is fast approaching 🧑‍🎄

 
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There are two separate allowances you can consider here, trivial benefits and annual parties, they are both allowable expenses for company with no BIK implications for the employee / director.

Trivial benefits is capped at £300 per employee / director and parties allowances at £150 per employee / director.

You can buy vouchers / gifts to claim trivial benefits allowance but not for parties allowance.
Is the relevant period for trivial benefits the company's financial year or the HMRC financial year? So for £300 trivial beenfits, are they totalled 6 April to 5 April? Similarly for the £150 'party' allowance.
 
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Is the relevant period for trivial benefits the company's financial year or the HMRC financial year? So for £300 trivial beenfits, are they totalled 6 April to 5 April? Similarly for the £150 'party' allowance.
Great question, since these are tax free benefits provided to employees the relevant period is the tax year for HMRC, not the company financial year.
 
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Thats interesting to know its personal financial year rather than business, that gives me a bit more time to use it.

A follow on question is what should the receipt look like? is it acceptable to have a whole heap of food and drink on the receipt? I'd spend the £150 for summer bbq and 150 at Christmas to use the allowance.
 
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Thats interesting to know its personal financial year rather than business, that gives me a bit more time to use it.
But you wouldn't get the corporation tax relief until the end of your next company financial year.
A follow on question is what should the receipt look like? is it acceptable to have a whole heap of food and drink on the receipt? I'd spend the £150 for summer bbq and 150 at Christmas to use the allowance.
It has to be a staff function to qualify for the exemption and it has to be £150 or less per person for the year. Those are the rules. As I said above, it is a BIK, so if you go over this allowance by even a penny you will have personal tax and NIC to pay on the whole amount of the function.
 
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Thats interesting to know its personal financial year rather than business, that gives me a bit more time to use it.

A follow on question is what should the receipt look like? is it acceptable to have a whole heap of food and drink on the receipt? I'd spend the £150 for summer bbq and 150 at Christmas to use the allowance.

Good luck with persuading HMRC that £300 spent on food and drink was consumed by two people at a barbecue! Unless you are going for Waygu beef, Chateau Lafite and the like. :)
 
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Good luck with persuading HMRC that £300 spent on food and drink was consumed by two people at a barbecue! Unless you are going for Waygu beef, Chateau Lafite and the like. :)
Can I go as a guest?
 
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