Benefits in Kind for non-employees

North

Hi. I've been working for a company for over 2 decades and the ongoing flouting of the General Expenses Rule has continued to be the bane of my life. The other issue is that the MD continues to insist upon paying the regular expenses of folk not employed by the company (not family or customers either) i.e. flights, hotel accommodation, private medical etc. which amounts to thousands of pounds annually. He then insists that these are declared on his P11D. The full expense is therefore off-set against CT and only 40% + the Class 1A is therefore paid. This has and continues to cause major issues for our working relationship particularly as he will just hold up his hands, plead ignorance and point to me in the event that an HMRC inspection should pick up on this. Is there any particular legislation or similar which covers this area specifically and which will enable me to show him once and for all that what he is doing is wrong? Thank you.

MarieNoelle

I would say that how the costs are incurred will determine the tax treatment.

If the company incurs the costs or provide an asset for private use then it usually is a benefit in kind.
Provided these people are not shareholders of the company, but deemed to be part of the MD's household (the definition is quite broad, see s721 (5) of ITEPA 2003) the perks they receive is by reason of the employment of the MD, and it is a taxable BIK in the hands of the MD.

If the company settles a personal liability of the MD then it should be treated as earnings and go through the payroll.

In either case the amount would be tax deductible for CT.

North

Thanks for your comment & help. The folk are not related in any way to the MD - it's our agent in KL's husband and teenage daughter who this relates to predominantly. The agent is not on the company's payroll and doesn't pay PAYE / Income Tax in the UK. The company has an agreement with the agency and she's paid a fixed monthly fee.