Tax Free Christmas Bonus
Small Benefit Exemption
From 1 January 2022, you can give employees up to two small benefits, tax free, each year. This is as a result of changes announced in the Budget on 27 September 2022. These benefits must not be in cash and the combined value of the two benefits cannot exceed €1,000.
If more than two benefits are given in a year, only the first two may qualify for tax free status. Unused allowance amounts cannot be carried over.
Tax-free vouchers or benefits can be used only to purchase goods or services. They cannot be redeemed for cash.
Note – Small Benefit Exemption
A single benefit of up to €1,000 may be provided to an employee tax free. If a single benefit exceeds €1,000 in value, the full value of that benefit is subject to tax. Where two benefits are provided, the combined value of those benefits cannot exceed €1,000.
Up to 31 December 2019, only one tax free benefit could be given to an employee each year. The value of that benefit could not exceed €500. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Revenue introduced a concessionary measure regarding this one benefit requirement. This concessionary measure applied for the 2020 and 2021 tax years. Details of this measure can be found in Small benefit exemption in the Benefit-in-kind (BIK) changes during COVID-19 restrictions section.
