Background Note
5.It had long been the stated practice of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that where an employer provides their employees with a periodic health-screening or a medical check- up it should not be considered a taxable benefit.
6.HMRC introduced the Income Tax (Exemption of Minor Benefits) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2090) to formally exempt from tax the provision of health-screening and medical check-ups that are made available by employers to all their employees. However, the power that was exercised to introduce these regulations contained a restriction that meant that for the exemption to apply the medical had to be generally available to all employees on similar terms.
7.HMRC accepts that SI 2007/2090 could adversely affect the tax-free status of check-ups provided by some employers to less than the full workforce (for example only to staff in a particular age group) for good medical or business reasons. This section meets this difficulty by exempting from tax the provision of one health-screening assessment and one medical check-up in any tax year but without the condition requiring these medicals to be offered to all employees. This means that where an employer restricts qualifying health assessment screenings or medical check-ups to part of the workforce they will be exempt from tax. The section also exempts from tax non–cash vouchers and credit tokens provided for qualifying health–screenings and medical check-ups. By virtue of the Income Tax (Exemption of Minor Benefits) (Revocation) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/695), SI 2007/2090 will cease to have effect once this Section is enacted (with or without modifications).