Staff training and courses

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
Produced by a Tolley Employment Tax expert
Employment Tax
Guidance

Staff training and courses

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
Produced by a Tolley Employment Tax expert
Employment Tax
Guidance
imgtext

Staff training and courses are a common benefit provided by employers to their staff. There are various ways in which staff training can be provided free of tax and NIC.

Work-related training

An exemption from tax and NIC for work-related training is provided by ITEPA 2003, ss 250–254 and SI 2001/1004, Sch 3, Pt VII, para 2. The exemption applies to both the costs of work-related training and related costs.

This exemption does not give employees tax relief for the costs of self-financed training where the cost of the training is not reimbursed by the employer. Self-financed training is addressed later in this guidance note.

HMRC guidance is at EIM01210 onwards. See Simon’s Taxes E4.737.

How does the method of provision of work-related training affect the exemption?

Where the exemption applies, the method of provision is not important. It is exempt whether it is provided:

  1. •

    as a benefit (ie where the employer provides the training themselves, or contracts and pays a third party to do so), or

  2. •

    as a reimbursement of expenses where the employee pays

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
Powered by Tolley+™
  • 12 Jan 2026 12:00

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

Popular Articles

Personal Tax

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
tag-icon Autumn Budget 2025 tag-icon Tax Returns
Personal Tax

Inter-spouse transfer

Inter-spouse transferIntroductionWhen a chargeable asset is transferred between two spouses or civil partners, there is a disposal by the transferor spouse / civil partner and an acquisition by the transferee spouse / civil partner for capital gains tax purposes. For simplicity, spouses and civil

14 Jul 2020 12:01 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more
Value Added Tax

Exemption ― overview ― items exempt from VAT in the UK

Exemption ― overview ― items exempt from VAT in the UKVAT exemption: list of supplies exempt from UK VATThe goods or services that are exempt from VAT are listed under various group headings within VATA 1994, Sch 9, Pt II.It is important to remember that not all supplies that come within a heading

14 Jul 2020 12:45 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more