Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003

693 Cash vouchers U.K.

(1) If a cash voucher to which Chapter 4 of Part 3 (taxable benefits: vouchers and credit-tokens) applies is received by an employee at any time, the employer is to be treated, for the purposes of PAYE regulations, as making at that time a payment of PAYE income of the employee of an amount equal to the amount ascertained under section 81(2) (benefit of cash voucher treated as earnings).

(2) This section does not apply to the provision of a cash voucher if—

(a) the voucher is used to meet expenses, and

(b) if the amount for which the voucher is capable of being exchanged had been paid directly to the employee by his or her employer, the amount would not have been PAYE income except by virtue of section 70 (sums in respect of expenses).

(3) This section does not apply to the provision of a cash voucher if it is exchanged for an amount which—

(a) is used to meet expenses, and

(b) if it had been paid directly to the employee by the employer, would not have been PAYE income except by virtue of section 70.

(4) PAYE regulations may exclude from the scope of this section the provision of cash vouchers in circumstances specified in the regulations.

(5) A cash voucher provided for an employee and appropriated to the employee—

(a) by attaching it to a card held for the employee, or

(b) in any other way,

is to be treated for the purposes of this section as having been received by the employee at the time when it is appropriated.