Have your organised your company Christmas party yet? Are you aware of what you should do if something goes wrong? What about what’s tax deductible for your event?
You have probably planned and organised your entire company Christmas party by now. That’s fantastic. It’s always great to plan ahead and make sure your event is ready to go.
However, there are a couple of things that come to mind when it comes to this matter. Have you thought about:
- Do you know what you have to do if there’s an unexpected event with any of your employees during your company’s event?
- Do you know how to work out tax the deductions for your company Christmas party?
Workers’ compensation
The first thing that you should consider is what happens if somebody does something that can inflict danger to others or themselves.
For example, if someone drinks too much at your party. You have to resolve the situation. That is one of your responsibilities towards the rest of your staff.
This is mostly a legal matter and as such, I can’t give you too much advice here. Just keep in mind that you might need to activate the workers’ compensation if something critical happens to one of your employees.
After all, when an employee is at a work-related party and even if a couple of these employees leave that after party, they are still a potential open liability for you under workers’ compensation. So, you really need to check that out.
What is tax deductible at your company Christmas party?
The second thing is related to taxes. Have you asked yourself what’s tax deductible in terms of a Christmas party? Can you have a meal? Can we have some lunch? Can we have a bit of alcohol? What’s deductible in the end?
It’s not always easy to determine this matter. But there is a general rule that says the company party must cost less than $300 per employee.
Well, in many cases this value is respected. Besides, each one of the employees can be classed as a one-off fringe benefit, which is under the limit. So, you can run with that, with less than $300.
If you have it in-house it’s fine but the take-home point is where things can complicate themselves. There will be tax consequences if you spend more than that per person.
I hope this information simplifies your company Christmas party. Enjoy your holidays and we hope to see you again in 2018!
If you need any extra information, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly.