Helen Downes, CEO, Shannon Chamber, pictured at the event held in ELFC Shannon with (from left): Jennifer Powell and Emer Hodges, Deloitte Limerick, and Maria Frost, ELFC.

There is no such thing as a free lunch took on a new meaning in January of 2024, with the introduction of the Enhanced Reporting Requirement (ERR) legislation, which obligates employers to report to Revenue certain tax-free payments and benefits given to an employee. This includes vouched and unvouched cash reimbursements of travel and subsistence, site-based payments, eating on-site allowances, emergency travel and remote working allowances.

With such payments required to be reported on or before the date of payment, and the prospect of penalties for non-compliance, it is not surprising that Revenue statistics point to returns to date involving 41,000 employers reporting, 2.4m employees, €1bn worth of payments, representing 90% of employee population. With the ‘Service for compliance’ period set to expire on 31 December 2024 and with no further planned centralised ‘nudge’ campaigns scheduled, companies are being urged to get their returns up to date to avoid any repercussions.

This was the advice given to Shannon Chamber member companies by a team from Deloitte when they addressed a meeting of Human Resources (HR) practitioners at an event in Shannon, hosted by Engine Lease Finance Corporation (ELFC) and organised by the Chamber.

Speaking at the event, Emer Hodges, Director, GES Global Mobility and Jennifer Powell, Assistant Manager, GES, Rewards with Deloitte Limerick, left attendees in little doubt where the onus of reporting lay, with their companies, and suggested the use of company credit cards, where appropriate, as these, fuel cards (paid by the employer), and payments made directly to third parties are excluded from this tight reporting timeframe.

It’s not all plain sailing though, as reported at the event, with many companies struggling to fully understand what a reportable item in their expense system is, the quality of data required, how to treat incidentals such as parking and toll fees, and the mechanics of reporting. Nevertheless, they were advised to constantly review their expenses and benefits’ policies to ensure that they are complying with the correct tax treatment for these items.

With staff entertainment coming under increased scrutiny by Revenue, attendees were also advised to watch out for excessive spend in this area, and the frequency of events, and to consider their expense policy updates on what is considered “allowable” staff entertainment for their businesses.

Accepting that Budget 2025 did introduce some better news for employers, particularly in the areas of small benefit exemption thresholds, reduction on Open Market Value (OMV) for employer provided vehicles in category A to D (not E), with a greater reduction for electric vehicles, and a new exemption from benefit-in-kind for employer provided electric vehicle home charging facilities, the Deloitte team also advised that there is a lot happening in the regulatory landscape for business.

Pointing to a litany of requirements – gender pay gap reporting, the EU Pay Transparency Directive, the Irish Corporate Governance Code, pension auto enrolment, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and European Banking Authority (EBA) Guidelines, they said that preparedness and communication with employees is key.

Urging attendees to ask themselves if now is a good time to carry out a PAYE health-check and ERR review to enable them establish where the risk(s) arise; to review and test their existing controls to ensure their robustness; to ensure that all stakeholders are aligned through promoting interaction between expense systems and payroll, HR, procurement etc; to address identified gaps or exposures and; to consider if an unprompted qualifying disclosure or self-correction is suitable or if they wish to avail of a PAYE settlement agreement, they added: “Genuine mistakes will happen and can be accepted by Revenue so long as the proper controls are in place; the challenge in that respect for a lot of employers is in relation to what is happening off payroll for example when engaging self-employed contractors.”

Reflecting on the presentation, Shannon Chamber CEO Helen Downes added: “Running a business and ensuring that it remains sustainable is a challenge in itself; ensuring that the business adheres to all regulatory requirements is also critical. That’s why presentations such as given to our members by Deloitte are critically important. They’re the experts who can act as watchdogs and advise us on how to implement employment tax and reward strategies in a tax compliant manner,” she added.