Try as you might to ignore it, Christmas is just around the corner. In the spirit of giving, lots of businesses consider purchasing a small christmas gift for their partners, people, and clients as a way of saying thanks. It’s a time old tradition, but it can be easy to get caught out.
As your friendly neighbourhood bookkeepers, we thought we’d publish this handy guide to corporate christmas gift giving to make things easier.
What does HMRC say?
Honestly, there’s a lot. So we’ll just skip to the bits that you really need to know.
HMRC allows you to claim a business gift up to the value of £50 for any one person in any one tax year. They must be business related to meet the criteria, so fill your boots with as many branded diaries, pens and calendars as you like! If you spend over the limit, however, HMRC will disallow the entire amount as tax deductible. Again, it’s important just to say that your logo must be visible somewhere on the gift(s). Get creative!
If you do decide to go down the route of food, alcohol or tobacco (and let’s face it, they are some of the best received christmas gifts) you cannot claim tax relief.
So, what can you give as a christmas gift?
It’s not an extensive guide, but here are some christmas gift suggestions:
- Product samples
- Gift boxes/hampers
- Coffee mugs
- Water bottles
- Bottle openers
- Notepads
- Stationary
There are plenty of business that specialise in corporate christmas gifts, so before you find yourself feeling deflated or worried that you won’t stand out, do some shopping!
Alternatively, ask the right person.
As a hands on team of bookkeepers with over 30 years of experience within corporate organisations, we know a thing or two about choosing the right christmas gift and following the guidelines. We help our clients each year to understand this, and lots of other HMRC guidelines and advisories. We’ve been looking after some of our clients for many years, and can provide lots of information and support on day to day tasks that will take the stress away from running your business. If you would like to find out more about our services, please do get in touch. You can fill in an online contact form, or call us direct 0161 211 9837