SE01140 - Emoluments of employees and office holders: flexible benefit plans
Section 19(1)1 and Section 154 ICTA 1988
Many employers are now introducing flexible benefit plans for
their employees. Broadly speaking, employees are given the
opportunity to choose the benefits in kind they would like to
receive from a menu of possibilities. Many schemes give each
benefit a monetary value which usually bears no particular
relationship to its Part V Chapter II “cash equivalent”
(see
SE21101). Benefits in kind which may be
included in such schemes include company cars, childcare provision,
private health insurance, additional pension contributions, and
even additional days annual holiday.
You may be asked to advise on the tax implications of these
schemes. Requests are usually received at the time when the
employer introduces the scheme, when they often involve an element
of “salary sacrifice”. In other words, the employee
gives up some part of his or her original gross pay in return for
additional benefits in kind.
Bear in mind that this is not an area where the Revenue is
obliged to give any kind of clearance, or pre-transaction ruling.
Employers and employees are free to enter into whatever agreements
they wish. No doubt they will obtain appropriate professional
advice before doing so. But you can only express an opinion on the
tax effect of such a scheme once it has been put in place.
Subject to that, in considering these schemes you should
concentrate on two main areas:
- firstly, has the employee’s contract of employment been varied so that there is a contractual reduction in the employee’s gross pay, and not simply a mandated deduction from gross pay (see SE01141)?
- secondly, if there has been a contractual reduction in the employee’s gross pay, are the benefits that the employee gets emoluments from employment chargeable under Section 19(1)1 ICTA 1988, or are they chargeable only under the benefits legislation in Part V Chapter II (see SE01142)?
Many of these schemes include references to a “benefit allowance”, “flex fund” or “flex account”. You will find guidance on this aspect at SE01143.
