Jet Accountancy

Not all types of income are equal from a tax perspective, and savings income enjoys dedicated allowances, tax rates and reliefs which allow a taxpayer to enjoy some or all of their savings income tax-free.

Personal allowance

The personal allowance for both 2021/22 and 2022/23 is set at £12,570. Any savings income that is sheltered by the personal allowance can be enjoyed tax-free.

Personal savings allowance

Taxpayers who pay tax at the basic or higher rates of tax also receive a dedicated savings allowance – the personal savings allowance. For both 2021/22 and 2022/23 this is set at £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers and at £500 for additional rate taxpayers. The personal savings allowance is available in addition to the personal allowance.

Taxpayers who pay tax at the additional rate do not benefit from a personal savings allowance.

The personal savings allowance is available to shelter interest from bank and building society accounts, saving and credit union accounts, unit trusts, investment trusts and open-ended investment companies, peer-to-peer lending, trust funds, payment protection insurance, Government or company bonds, life annuity payments and some life insurance contracts. Interest from tax-free savings accounts does not count towards the allowance.

Savings starting rate

Individuals whose non-saving income is low may also benefit from the special starting rate of tax on savings income of up to £5,000. This is set at 0%, meaning savings income which falls within the starting rate band is received tax-free.

The availability of the savings starting rate depends on the amount of taxable non-savings income that a person receives in a tax year – the more non-savings income that a person has, such as employment income or a pension, the less they are able to benefit from the savings zero rate.

If a person has non-savings income of £12,570 or less, their income will be covered by their personal allowance. Where this is the case, they will be able to benefit from the full savings starting rate band of £5,000, and receive savings income of £5,000 tax-free in addition to any savings covered by their savings or personal allowance or received from tax-free accounts, such as ISAs. Where the personal allowance is not used in full, any unused personal allowance can be set against savings income, increasing the amount of savings income that can be received tax-free.

Where a person has other income in excess of the personal allowance, this will eat into the savings starting rate. If the taxable income (i.e. income in excess of the personal allowance) is less than £5,000 (as will be the case where non-savings income is between £12,570 and £17,570), the savings starting rate band is reduced by the amount of the taxable non-savings income. This is illustrated by the following example.

Example

Elsie receives a pension of £14,000 a year. She also has savings income of £7,000 a year.

Her personal allowance is set against her pension, reducing her taxable pension income to £1,430.

As this is less than £5,000, her savings starting rate band is reduced by her taxable non savings income of £1,430 to £3,570.

Consequently, the first £3,570 of Elsie’s savings income will benefit from the starting savings zero rate, while the next £1,000 will be sheltered by her personal savings allowance.

The remaining £2,430 (£7,000 – £3,570 – £1,000) will be taxed at the basic rate of 20%.

The starting savings rate band is eliminated in its entirety where a person has taxable non-savings income of £5,000 or above. This will be the case where they have non-savings income of at least £17,570.

Tax-free savings of £18,570

A person who receives the basic personal allowance and only receives savings income can enjoy savings income of up to £18,570 a year tax-free (in addition to any savings income from tax-free savings account). This is made up of the personal allowance of £12,570, the savings starting rate band of £5,000 and the personal savings allowance of £1,000.

This figure will be higher if the person has the marriage allowance (worth an additional £1260) or receives the married couple’s allowance (available where at least one spouse or civil partner was born before 6 April 1935).

Tax-free savings In addition to the above, a person can enjoy savings income from tax-free savings accounts tax-free. Interest on ISAs and some National Savings and Investment accounts is free of tax.

Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic and national lockdown took Christmas parties (other than virtual ones) off the agenda. This year, they may be a temptation to make up for lost time. How can you celebrate the festive season without triggering a tax liability in the process?

Limited tax exemption

There is a limited tax exemption for annual parties and functions, which can be used to ensure that no benefit in kind tax charge arises in respect of the provision of the Christmas party. However, as with all exemptions, there are conditions to be met. The exemption applies equally to virtual parties as to ‘real life’ events.

Function must be annual

The exemption only applies to annual functions. If you hold a Christmas party every year (Covid-19 restrictions aside), the exemption will be available. If, however, you decide to hold a one-off event, the resulting benefit will be taxable.

£150 per head limit

The exemption only applies if the cost of the function is not more than £150 per head. This is the total cost of the function (including VAT) divided by the number of people attending (guests as well as employees). If the cost per head is more than £150, the full amount is taxable, not just the excess over £150. If the employee brings a guest, the taxable benefit is the cost of the employee’s attendance at the event, and also that of their guest.

If you hold more than one annual function each year, you can use the £150 per head limit to achieve the best outcome. Remember that it can only be used to shelter ‘whole’ functions – it is not a tax-free allowance. In working out the best possible use of the exemption, you will need to consider the impact that guests will have on the amount that would be taxable in the absence of the exemption. The exemption is better used to cover an event costing £30 per head where the employee can bring a guest than one costing £40 per head which is for employees only. If the exemption is not available, the taxable amount for the former for attendance by both the employee and their guest is £60 (2 x £30), whereas for the latter, it is only £40.

Taxable benefit? Use a PSA

If you are not able to benefit from the exemption for your Christmas party, but want to preserve employee goodwill, you may wish to meet the associated tax liability by including the benefit within a PAYE Settlement Agreement.

The hospitality and leisure industry were particularly hard hit by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns. To help the industry recover they benefitted from a reduced rate of VAT of 5% from 15 July 2020 until 30 September 2021.

As a temporary measure, a new reduced rate of VAT of 12.5% applies from 1 October 2021 until 31 March 2022.

The rate will revert to the standard rate of 20% from 1 April 2022.

Supplies benefitting from the reduced rate

The following supplies, which benefitted from the reduced rate of 5% until 30 September 2021, will also benefit from the new reduced rate of 12.5% from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

1. Food and non-alcoholic beverages sold for on-premises consumption, for example, in restaurants, cafes and pubs.
2. Hot takeaway food and hot takeaway non-alcoholic beverages.
3. Sleeping accommodation in hotels or similar establishments, holiday accommodation, pitch fees for caravans and tents, and associated facilities.
4. Admission to cultural attractions that do not already benefit from the cultural VAT exemption, such as theatres, circuses, fairs, amusement parks, concerts, museums, zoos, cinemas, exhibitions and other similar cultural events and facilities.

Where an admission to an attraction is within the existing cultural VAT exemption, this takes precedence over the reduced rate.