Are You Ready For Tax Free Gift Card Gifting?

Corporate gifting season is coming, is your business ready? If you don’t already sell gift cards your business could miss out as more and more companies are looking to gift cards as a way to reward their employees.

If you didn’t hear the news back in September about the expansion of the small benefits exemption scheme we think it’s one of the biggest good news stories from 2022. Did you know that before the new scheme came into place employers were limited and could only gift their employees up to €500 per year in tax free gifts?

Many employers use gift cards as a way to deliver holiday bonuses, reward employees for outstanding contributions to the workplace, or use this type of gifting as part of growing their company culture so this expansion has been warmly welcomed.

Increases to corporate gifting thresholds

While the scheme has definitely been a great benefit to both employers and employees the increases in the cost of living and rising inflation has taken the shine off things for some people. Which is why we were delighted when it was announced earlier this year that employers are now allowed to gift up to €1,000 tax free in one year!

Conditions and limitations to be aware of

There are a few conditions that come with the scheme that you should be aware of. In practice there are limitations to the scheme such as employers can only gift a maximum of two vouchers per year to a total maximum value of €1,000 a year to an employee. A total of two vouchers can be purchased for each individual per year, even if employers do not take the full €1,000. To maximise the tax relief available, employers should ensure to take the full €1,000 over no more than two vouchers.

Employee gifting in 2022

If an employer has already gifted an employee one voucher this year, they can still gift them another one up to a combined balance of €1,000. For example, if an employer has already gifted an employee €500 in one voucher this year, they can gift them another voucher of €500 to make a combined total of €1,000.  If they have gifted them one voucher for €300 they can gift them another up to a value of €700, and so on.

This is a prime time for businesses who sell gift cards to appeal to employers who are looking for ways to reward their workforce by availing of the small benefits exemption scheme.

Are you ready to add a gift card solution to your business?

If your company doesn’t already offer gift cards our team here at crave.cards would be happy to take you through our gift card solution. If you like what you see we can have you set up and selling cards in a short space of time, we’ll even include some of our top tips to help you sell your own gift cards.

Ready to learn more about crave.cards? Take a look at our features and price plans, you can even request a demo here. Get in touch and we’ll soon have you gifting!

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