School fees

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Philip Rutherford
Employment Tax
Guidance

School fees

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
Produced by Tolley in association with Philip Rutherford
Employment Tax
Guidance
imgtext

The payment of a child’s school fees on behalf of an employee is an uncommon benefit. Unlike the provision of childcare, or the award of scholarships, there is no general exemption in place for the payment of school fees.

Introduction

The payment of school fees on behalf of an employee is treated as though the employer has settled a pecuniary liability of the employee. This determines the tax, NIC and reporting requirements associated with the payment. For further details on pecuniary liability, see the Contractual and pecuniary liabilities guidance note and Simon’s Taxes E4.420A.

Reimbursement of school fees

Employee pays the school fees and is reimbursed for these by the employer

The first example is where an employee pays for the school fees and the employer reimburses part of all of the fees in question.

In this case the amount reimbursed is treated as earnings.

Employee contracts with the school and the employer pays the fees

In this case, the employee enters a contract with the school directly and the employer pays either some or all

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+™
TAKE A FREE TRIAL NOW
Philip Rutherford
Philip Rutherford

Senior Tax Director at Molson Coors Brewing Company

Phil is the Senior Tax Director for Molson Coors' European operations. He has responsibility for both direct and indirect taxes across both EU and non-EU states. Prior to this, Phil was responsible for Molson Coors UK tax affairs covering all major taxes and duties.   Phil trained at KPMG LLP, where he worked for 8 years, specialising in tax investigations across both direct and indirect tax.

Read moreRead more
Powered by Tolley+™
  • 09 Jul 2024 11:51

Home/ Tolley Tax Guidance/ Employment Tax / Providing benefits to employees

Popular Articles

Corporation Tax

Associated companies ― from 1 April 2023

Associated companies ― from 1 April 2023Implications of associated companiesFrom 1 April 2023, the rate of corporation tax that a company is subject to depends on the level of its augmented profits. The rate of tax is based on a comparison of the company’s augmented profits against the corporation

22 Mar 2021 10:21 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more
Trusts and Inheritance Tax

Gifts out of surplus income

Gifts out of surplus incomeA valuable exemption from inheritance tax (IHT) applies to gifts out of surplus income. This exemption applies only to lifetime gifts and is therefore a key part of lifetime planning. The exemption applies to both outright gifts and gifts into trust. Gifts which meet the

14 Jul 2020 11:48 | Produced by Tolley in association with Emma Haley at Boodle Hatfield LLP Read more Read more
Corporation Tax

Research and development (R&D) relief ― overview

Research and development (R&D) relief ― overviewThis guidance note provides an overview of the research and development (R&D) tax reliefs for companies.See the Research and development tax relief summary diagram which summarises the R&D tax relief.See also Simon’s Taxes D1.401.For a factsheet which

14 Jul 2020 12:22 | Produced by Tolley in association with Will Sweeney Read more Read more