Employees who receive coronavirus tests at work will not have to pay income tax or NI on the benefit. What’s the story?
A temporary tax exemption is being introduced to prevent employees suffering an income tax benefit in kind charge on relevant coronavirus antigen tests provided by or on behalf of their employer.
To qualify, the tests must be made available to all an employer’s employees generally on similar terms, and it only applies to antigen tests (that confirm whether a person currently has the virus).
The exemption applies to tests provided between 8 December 2020 and 5 April 2021. However, HMRC will refrain from collecting income tax or NI on any relevant tests which have already been provided during the current tax year.
This exemption is designed to minimise the financial burden on employees, and the Class 1A NI contributions and reporting requirements on employers who provide a relevant coronavirus antigen test.
This article has been reproduced by kind permission of Indicator – FL Memo Ltd. For details of their tax-saving products please visit www.indicator-flm.co.uk or call 01233 653500.