How could a termination payment be taxed?

Produced by Tolley in association with Sue El Hachmi of Osborne Clarke LLP
Employment Tax
Guidance

How could a termination payment be taxed?

Produced by Tolley in association with Sue El Hachmi of Osborne Clarke LLP
Employment Tax
Guidance
imgtext

Termination payments are defined in the Termination payments ― overview guidance note.

Termination payments can take the form of cash, benefits or both. The payment will either be fully taxable, partially taxable or fully exempt depending on the nature and the amount of the payment.

Depending on the circumstances, termination payments can be categorised as one of the following, each with their own tax and NIC treatment:

  1. earnings ― see the Taxation of cash employment termination payments guidance note

  2. benefits in kind ― see the Taxation of non-cash employment termination payments guidance note

  3. restrictive covenants ― see the Taxation of payments for restrictive covenants guidance note

  4. benefits from an employer-financed retirement benefits scheme (EFRBS) ― see the Employer-financed retirement benefit schemes (EFRBS) ― overview guidance note

  5. termination payments (this includes benefits) within ITEPA 2003, s 401 ― see the Termination payments ― overview guidance note

It is the employer’s responsibility to correctly operate PAYE for termination payments and they,

Continue reading the full document
To gain access to additional expert tax guidance, workflow tools, generative tax AI, and tax research, register for a free trial of Tolley+™
Sue El Hachmi
Sue El Hachmi

Senior Associate at Osborne Clarke


Sue advises on the design and implementation of employee incentive arrangements for private and public companies, including all types of tax-advantaged plans and bespoke arrangements for senior executives and management.Sue also advises on the incentive-related aspects of corporate transactions and has experience of private equity transactions and public company takeovers, flotations and demergers.Sue is a member of the Share Plan Lawyers Group and a member of the UK BioIndustry Association Finance and Tax Advisory Committee.

Powered by Tolley+
  • 25 Nov 2025 10:44

Popular Articles

Taxation of dividend income

Taxation of dividend incomeIntroductionA dividend is a distribution of profit by a company to its shareholders.A dividend is not only a payment in cash. It can be the issue of new shares in exchange for forfeiting the right to a cash payment (a stock dividend). For more detail, see the Cash

14 Jul 2020 13:48 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more

VAT on property disposals

VAT on property disposalsThis guidance note provides an overview of the VAT treatment of selling property that is located in the UK. The UK includes Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the territorial sea of the UK. The sale of any land or building located outside the UK is outside the scope of UK

14 Jul 2020 13:57 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more

Foreign exchange issues

Foreign exchange issuesOverview of foreign exchange provisionsForeign exchange (FX) movements are generally taxed following the rules applicable to the underlying income, expenditure, asset or liability on which they arise, broadly as follows:Capital assetsOn a realisation basis (ie on disposal)

14 Jul 2020 11:44 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more