Fat Tuesday and no rolls at work?
Simple consumption is actually deductible for your employer if it meets certain requirements.
– You have to invite everyone. For example, it can’t just be to “the best seller”, says Pia Blank Thörnroos, tax lawyer at the Swedish Tax Agency’s legal department.
In many workplaces today, rolls are offered to the employees.
A semla is included in the definition of “lighter consumption” and becomes deductible for the employer and tax-free for the employee.
– Simpler measures to create well-being in the workplace are deductible, says Pia Blank Thörnroos.
The coffee and fruit basket in the coffee room, which is common in many workplaces, are also examples of snacks that the manager can deduct money for.
Must apply to everyone
Another criterion is that it must apply to everyone, regardless of the form of employment.
Blank Thörnroos explains that it must not be the case that only one group of employees is invited to semla.
– The benefit must be offered to all employees who are active in their position at the workplace.
The snack or refreshment must also have a lesser value.
– It should be less than SEK 60 plus VAT per employee, says the tax lawyer.
Lunch or dinner is not considered a staff care benefit and must therefore be taxed.
– If it starts to approach a meal, it becomes taxable, she says.
Not a digital semla
It is also important that coffee is provided at the physical workplace.
Coffee for a digital meeting from home is therefore not tax-free. Then you have to pay for your semla yourself.
The Swedish Tax Agency is clear in its definition and refers to the fact that a digital coffee break is not a common arrangement at the physical workplace.
– An employee care benefit should create well-being at work, concludes Blank Thörnroos.