🎉 Claiming Trivial Benefits & Team Events: Make the Most of What You’re Allowed
Trivial benefits are a smart way to reward your team without triggering extra tax and running a business means keeping a close eye on expenses. If you’re not making use of trivial benefits and allowable staff events, you’re leaving value on the table. These small perks can boost morale, team cohesion, and even attract top talent all while staying compliant.
Here’s how you can reward your team and stay tax-efficient including how we recently took our own team to Fairgame in London for a well-deserved summer event 🎯
🎁 What Are Trivial Benefits?
Trivial benefits are small perks you can provide to employees that don’t need to be taxed as long as they meet HMRC’s conditions.
To qualify, a trivial benefit must:
- Cost £50 or less (per employee, per instance)
- Not be cash or a cash voucher
- Not be a reward for work or performance
- Not be part of their contract
These are perfect for small treats like:
- A surprise birthday gift card (non-cash)
- Flowers or chocolates to say thank you
- Occasional team lunches or snacks
✅ Allowance tip: There’s no annual limit on how many trivial benefits you can give to employees – but directors of close companies are capped at £300 per year.
🌞 Claiming for Staff Events – Like Our Day at Fairgame
Team events aren’t just a great way to unwind they’re also tax-deductible if planned correctly.
Under HMRC rules, employers can claim up to £150 per employee per year (including VAT) for annual events such as:
- Summer or Christmas parties
- Team building days
- Social outings
Key criteria:
- Must be open to all employees (or all in a particular location/department)
- Must be annual a one-off event doesn’t qualify unless it’s part of a regular tradition
- Cost per head (including transport, food, drinks, entertainment, etc.) must not exceed £150
💡 At Brisan, we took the team to Fairgame in London for a summer celebration. It ticked all the boxes inclusive, morale-boosting, and well within the £150 allowance. A win-win!
📚 Make Sure You Document It Right
Like with any claim, it’s important to keep things clean and compliant:
- Keep receipts and invoices
- Document who attended
- Track costs per head
Your cloud accounting software can make this easier use custom expense categories for “Trivial Benefits” and “Staff Events” to keep your bookkeeping tidy and audit ready.
🚀 Turn Perks into a Strategic Advantage
Too often we see businesses missing out on allowable claims simply because they weren’t aware of the rules or didn’t have a proper expense process in place.
By building these allowances into your finance workflows, you’ll:
- Maximise allowable deductions
- Boost employee engagement
- Stay on the right side of HMRC
📞 Let’s Talk
Want to make sure you’re not missing out on what you can claim? Book a free 15-minute consultation and we’ll walk you through how to structure your expense policies and get more from your accounting system all while keeping your team happy.
Remember the £150 event and £50 trivial benefit rules are there for you to use. Let’s make sure you do.
