Paul Smith

If an employee has a hire car for a specific business journey but takes it home the night before, would there be a BIK charge as the hire car is 'available' for private use or would it be considered to be 'incidental' private use?

EIM23455 - Car and van benefit: pooled cars and vans: meaning of private use merely incidental to business use - HMRC internal manual refers to where private use is merely incidental to business use, but this piece of guidance only seems to apply to 'pool cars'. Does the same rule apply to hire cars?

I have found information on the internet that seems to suggest that HMRC would not consider a BIK to arise on a hire car where private use is 'incidental' to the business travel. And that according to HMRC guidance, incidental private use is not measured by the actual number of private miles driven but rather the proportion of the private element of the journey when viewed as a whole. A hire vehicle provided for a business journey which is taken home overnight to serve this purpose the following morning will be classed as incidental private use. A benefit in kind charge will arise where the vehicle has been used for private purposes over the weekend.
Is this correct?

EIM00520 states: For tax purposes, the word ‘earnings’ in relation to an office or EMPLOYMENT means: - any salary, wages or fee - any gratuity or OTHER PROFIT or incidental benefit OF ANY KIND obtained by the employee if it is MONEY or money’s worth - anything else that constitutes an emolument of the employment This is a wide definition. The second and third bullets ensure that all money payments that are similar to salaries, fees and wages are taxed as earnings. Examples are bonuses, commissions, tips, overtime pay and EXTRA MONEY earnings OF ANY KIND. The cash payment to the individual is only by virtue of their employment. Would it still be treated as non-taxable?

If a member of staff finds missing cash at a workplace (workplace is in the hospitality industry) they hand it to the business and the cash is registered as lost/found. If no one claims the money, say after 3 months, and the cash is handed to the employee who found it - is the business required to operate PAYE/NI on this?