Railcard Discount

I am having difficulty getting a definitive answer about whether an organisation can either purchase railcards on behalf of its employees that frequently travel or reimburse the cost of one an employee has purchased through expenses. Our organisation, a Charity, requires its employees to frequently travel in/around London and the south and usually this is done via train travel - a network railcard is available at a cost of £30 and we've calculated that we would save a substantial amount on rail fare if employees used one when booking their travel. However, we cannot reasonably expect them to incur an additional personal cost of £30 for our benefit - although employees *could* benefit from personal travel, not all employees would use one outside of work. If we can evidence (through screenshots of booked ticket prices with a network rail card vs what it would have cost without until they save at least £30) could we put this through as a legitimate expense? Example 2 in EIM16067 seems to suggest we can. However, other interpretations suggest the only way to treat this is as a BIK. If it cannot be expensed, can it be treated as a trivial benefit as:- it cost you £50 or less to provide it isn’t cash or a cash voucher it isn’t a reward for their work or performance it isn’t in the terms of their contract Thank you

Hi ,
 

EIM16067 is the correct guidance to follow in your case.  Essentially it means that if the cost to the employer (£30) is subsequently matched or exceeded by saving on the travel cost, then even where the employee benefits from private travel, it is not a reportable benefit and therefore no tax or National Insurance is due.   Thank you .