The short answer: a handful of benefits reach your people in full, with no income tax for them and no P11D for you. The ones a small company can actually use are trivial benefits, an annual event, pension contributions, a phone, and one health screening per person per tax year. Private medical insurance and gym memberships are not on the list: both are taxable.
For each benefit: the limit, and whether it creates a tax bill for the employee and a P11D for you.
| Benefit | Limit and conditions | Taxed on the employee? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health screening | One screening and one medical check-up per person, per tax year | No | How it works |
| Trivial benefits | £50 or less each. Not cash, not a reward for work, not contractual | No | GOV.UK |
| Annual event | £150 or less per head, annual, open to all employees | No | GOV.UK |
| Pension contributions | Within each person's £60,000 annual allowance | No | GOV.UK |
| Mobile phone | One per employee, on a company contract | No | GOV.UK |
| Working from home | £6 a week, or £26 a month, for regular home workers | No | GOV.UK |
| Work-related training | Must relate to the job | No | GOV.UK |
| Welfare counselling | Available to all employees on similar terms | No | GOV.UK |
| Private medical insurance | Taxable benefit | Yes | |
| Gym membership | Taxable benefit | Yes |
Limits and conditions from GOV.UK on 10 November 2026, tax year 2026/27. Directors of close companies have a £300 annual cap on trivial benefits. The director's version of this list.
Give someone a pay rise and a large part of it never reaches them. Give them an exempt benefit and all of it does.
For a basic-rate employee to end up with £399 in their pocket, you pay about £554 gross: 20% income tax and 8% National Insurance come off. You then pay 15% employer National Insurance on top. Total cost to the company: about £637.
The company pays £399. The employee pays no income tax on it, and there is nothing to report as a benefit in kind, provided it is their one screening for the tax year.
Illustration only, using 2026/27 rates for a basic-rate taxpayer in England, Wales or Northern Ireland whose pay is above the National Insurance thresholds. Your accountant will know the figures for your payroll.
The exemption is in section 320B of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003: one health-screening assessment and one medical check-up per employee per tax year. The section does not require you to offer it to everyone, so you can start with the directors, a senior team, or the whole company.
The company pays, directly. One payment on the company card. Do not ask staff to pay and claim it back.
Make it voluntary. A blood test is a personal decision. Offer it; do not require it.
Results belong to the employee. Each person completes their own health questionnaire with their own email address and receives their own report. The company gets a receipt, not results. You should not ask to see them.
It is a screening, not occupational health. If the law requires health surveillance for your work, for example for night workers or people exposed to particular hazards, that is a separate duty and this does not replace it.
With TrueVitals each person books at whichever of 103 partner clinics is nearest to them, or has a home or office visit for £29 extra, so a team spread around the country is not a problem. How a company health check works, step by step.
That is private medical insurance. It is a taxable benefit, and it does a different job: it pays when someone is ill. A screening looks for risk before anyone is ill.
Clinic-based health assessments with an examination and a consultation exist, and cost more. We test blood and write the report.
Some will. Ask them. A benefit nobody uses is not a benefit.
Use an occupational health provider. This is not a substitute.
In 2026/27 the main ones are one health screening and one medical check-up per person per tax year, trivial benefits of £50 or less, an annual event costing £150 or less per head, employer pension contributions, one mobile phone, £6 a week for regular home workers, work-related training and welfare counselling. Each has conditions, and going over a limit usually makes the whole amount taxable.
Not within the limit. Section 320B of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 exempts one health-screening assessment and one medical check-up per employee per tax year when the employer provides it. A second screening in the same tax year is a taxable benefit.
Section 320B does not contain a condition that it is offered to all employees. Some other exemptions, such as the annual event and welfare counselling, do require that. If your accountant takes a different view, ask them to point to the condition in the section.
No. Each person receives their own report. The company pays and gets a receipt. Health information belongs to the employee, and you should not ask for it.
No. Company-paid private medical insurance is a taxable benefit in kind. The employee pays income tax on its value and the employer pays National Insurance on it.
Email support@truevitals.co.uk with the number of people and which panel, and we will set up a single payment for the company. Each person then completes their own questionnaire and books their own appointment.
140 biomarkers each, a clinician-reviewed report within 4 working days, at 103 partner clinics or at home. £399 per person including the clinic draw. One payment from the company.
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Included in the price, never an add-on. We consider it essential.
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