Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

142 Credit-tokens

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section and section 157(3), where a credit-token is provided for an employee by reason of his employment, then, for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts—

(a) on each occasion on which the employee uses the credit-token to obtain money, goods or services he shall be treated as having received an emolument from his employment of an amount equal to the expense incurred by the person providing the credit-token in or in connection with the provision of the money, goods or services obtained; and

(b) any money, goods or services obtained by the employee by use of the credit-token shall be disregarded.

(2) There shall be deductible under section 198, 201 or 332(3) from the amount taxable under subsection (1) above such amounts, if any, as would have been so deductible if the cost of the goods or services in question had been incurred by the employee out of his emoluments.

(3) The expense incurred by the person providing the credit-token as mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above shall be treated as reduced by any part of that expense made good to that person by the employee.

(4) In this section “credit-token” means a card, token, document or other thing given to a person by another person who undertakes—

(a) that on the production of it (whether or not some other action is also required) he will supply money, goods and services (or any of them) on credit; or

(b) that where, on the production of it to a third party (whether or not some other action is also required) the third party supplies money, goods and services (or any of them), he will pay the third party for them (whether or not taking any discount or commission);

but does not include a non-cash voucher or a cash voucher.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (4) above, the use of an object to operate a machine provided by the person giving the object, or by a third party, shall be treated as production of the object to that person or, as the case may be, third party.