This year, employers can be exceptionally generous and combine the so-called corona gift with the tax-free Christmas gift. Together, they can be worth a maximum of SEK 2,500. But hurry! The corona gift is only valid until the end of the year.
We're rushing towards Christmas and New Year, so it's high time for employers planning to arrange tax-free gifts for their employees.
Normally, gifts from employers to employees are taxable. However, in order to support various industries during the pandemic, the government decided on the so-called corona gift. And earlier this year, the government decided to double the value of the gift; as an employer, you can give each employee a gift worth a maximum of SEK 2,000 without paying benefit tax.
But that option only remains until the end of the year.
Coronagift plus Christmas gift
Christmas gifts from employers are exempt from benefit-in-kind tax up to a value of SEK 500. And until the end of the year, employers can combine the SEK 2,000 coronavirus gift with the SEK 500 Christmas gift and give a present worth up to SEK 2,500 free from benefit-in-kind tax!
Rules and recommendations relating to the pandemic change over time. However, this year many employers will no doubt want to treat their employees to a Christmas dinner.
– If employees are treated to a Christmas buffet in connection with a Christmas party or staff party, they are not taxed for the cost benefit. However, if Christmas food is sent home to employees to eat in their own homes, it is a taxable cost benefit, says Pia Blank Thörnroos, legal expert at the Swedish Tax Agency.
Gift voucher tax-free gift
Gifts given in cash are not tax-free. Other means of payment such as cheques, postal orders, and gift vouchers that can be exchanged for cash are also counted as cash. However, gift vouchers that cannot be exchanged for cash may be a tax-free gift.
Some employers choose to donate money to charitable causes for Christmas. This can be done at the employee's request, instead of a Christmas gift.
In that case, the gift is treated as cash and will therefore be taxed as salary. However, if an employer decides to donate money to a charity instead of giving Christmas gifts to their employees, the gift is tax-free. On the other hand, employers are not allowed to deduct the gifts.
Björn Dickson
This article is published in partnership with Resultat
