Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 402

Meaning of "benefit"

Section 402 defines what counts as a "benefit" for the purposes of the rules on payments and benefits received in connection with the termination or change of an employment.

• A "benefit" includes anything that, if it had been received for performing the duties of the job, would count as taxable earnings or would count as taxable earnings but for an earnings-only exemption.
• Benefits covered by wider "employment income exemptions" (as opposed to earnings-only exemptions) fall outside this chapter entirely and are not caught by these rules.
• Certain benefits connected with cars, vans, mobile telephones, and computer equipment are specifically excluded from the definition when they are received on termination of employment.
• The exclusions ensure that items already dealt with under their own specific exemption rules are not inadvertently drawn into the termination payments tax charge.