Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 306A

Carers: board and lodging

Section 306A exempts from income tax the value of board and lodging provided to home care workers at the home of the person they care for.

• A home care worker is someone employed wholly or mainly to provide personal care to another person at that person's home, where the recipient needs care due to old age, disability, illness, mental disorder, or past or present dependence on alcohol or drugs.
• Board and lodging provided to a home care worker at the care recipient's home is exempt from income tax, provided it is on a reasonable scale and is provided by reason of the carer's employment.
• The exemption applies specifically to benefits that would otherwise be taxable under the residual benefit-in-kind charge, so the value of the board and lodging simply does not count as taxable income for the carer.
• All three conditions must be met for the exemption to apply: the provision must be reasonable in scale, it must be at the recipient's home, and it must arise because of the individual's role as a home care worker.