PPE for staff – tax impact

PPE for staff – tax impact

Good news for employers and employees.

HMRC have advised that if an employer provides employees working in COVID-19 high-risk environments with PPE and coronavirus tests, then these will not been seen as a taxable “Benefit In Kind”. This follows HSE guidance that employers should provide PPE to employees where there is a risk to safety. 

Despite issuing guidance to the contrary earlier this week, HMRC have now confirmed that Coronavirus tests provided by the government as part of its national testing scheme will not be a Benefit In Kind (BIK) for tax purposes and no Income Tax (for the emmployees) or Class 1A NICs (for the employers) will be due.

Equally where employers provide testing kits to employees outside of the national testing scheme, whether directly or by purchasing tests to be carried out by a third party, there will also be no BIK. Where employees are working in a situation where the risk of Coronavirus transmission is very high and the employer risk assessment shows that PPE is required, the employer must provide PPE to employees and this will be non-taxable.

We think this is great news, and a welcome relief to businesses and employees who are already struggling under Covid 19.

Want to know more – get in touch and drop an email to sharon@allianceca.co.uk

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