Common exempt or non-taxable benefits

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

Common exempt or non-taxable benefits

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

Generally, benefits provided to an employee are taxable unless there is a specific exemption or other rule that means they are not chargeable to tax. See the How might non-cash income and benefits be taxed? guidance note. This note looks at those benefits which are not taxable.

Exemptions

The main exemptions for employee benefits are in ITEPA 2003, ss 227–326B (Pt 4). For examples which are exempt, there is no P11D reporting requirement, no tax due and no Class 1A NIC due.

Below is an alphabetical list of the main exempt benefits, a brief description of each and a link to the relevant guidance note on the subject:

BenefitBrief details of exemption requirementsRelevant guidance note
Annual parties and similar annual social eventsThe total cost per head of all such functions in the tax year is less than £150 including VATAnnual parties
Armed forces’ travel to take leaveCovers any form of travel provided to enable members of the armed forces to go on or return from leaveArmed forces
Bicycles

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+™
  • 23 Mar 2026 15:20

Home/ Tolley Tax Guidance/ Employment Tax / PAYE for employees

Popular Articles

Owner-Managed Businesses

SEIS and EIS ― overview

SEIS and EIS ― overviewThe seed enterprise investment scheme (SEIS) and enterprise investment scheme (EIS) are very similar schemes which offer substantial tax incentives to investors in companies which qualify. The tax incentives for SEIS and EIS investments are intended to encourage investment in

14 Jul 2020 13:31 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more
Employment Tax

Loans provided to employees

Loans provided to employeesEmployers sometimes provide their employees with loans, sometimes charging interest and often not, either as part of the reward package or to help the individual meet significant expenditure. For example, it is common to provide loans for the purchase of annual travel

14 Jul 2020 12:11 | Produced by Tolley Read more Read more
Trusts and Inheritance Tax

Spouse exemption from inheritance tax

Spouse exemption from inheritance taxArguably, the most important inheritance tax exemption is the spouse exemption from inheritance tax.There is no IHT to pay on gifts from husband to wife and vice versa, or from one civil partner to the other (referred to collectively in this note as ‘spouses’).

14 Jul 2020 13:56 | Produced by Tolley in association with Emma Haley at Boodle Hatfield LLP Read more Read more