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Applying an Expense or Benefit in BrightPay

Bright Support
  • Updated

To add expenses & benefits to an employee record, go to Employees > choose the Employee from the listing > select Expenses & Benefits on their menu toolbar.
 

 1) Select 'Add':

 




2) From the options, select the applicable benefit/expense
 

3) Complete the information that is required for the benefit selected - the information that is required will be dependent on the benefit chosen


4) Under 'Applicability', choose whether the benefit is to apply to this tax year only, or whether the benefit is to repeat in the following tax year (with same amounts or zeroised).





 

5) Select the Tax accounting method to apply using the drop down menu.
 

 

 

6) When the benefit information is complete, click Save
 

7) If any required information has not been entered for the benefit, BrightPay will prompt you of this.
 

8) If the tax accounting method chosen is PAYE (payrolling of benefits), the benefit will now appear under Pay & Benefits on the employee's payslip going forward:

 




9) To view or edit the benefit details, simply click the spanner icon next to the amount > View/Edit details

 

NB: When adding an electric car, under type of type of fuel/power used - choose 'All other cars' option. Set the CO2 emissions to 0. For hybrid vehicles, use 'All other cars' option also, but you can enter the CO2 emissions in the correct field.

A car allowance is a taxable cash payment added to an employee's monthly gross salary and processed through payroll. It is subject to Income Tax and National Insurance (NICs) but is generally not a Benefit-in-Kind (BIK). To add a car allowance to an employee's payslip, create the Addition type in the Employer tab (subject to Tax and NI, but not included in pension calculations) and then on the payslip under 'Additions and Deductions' > Add > select this addition type from the list. The addition will be added to the taxable and NICable gross and therefore be reported via the FPS submitted to HMRC.

For any queries regarding private vehicle use or fuel paid for by employer, please refer to HMRC guidance for more information.

There is no way to bulk / batch add benefits for employees. Expenses and benefits need adding manually to each employee & cannot be imported via csv file.

A payrolled benefit should only affect the taxable pay (be included in the taxable gross) - it will not be included in NIC or pension calculations.

If you are having issues saving an expense or benefit - go to the Employees Personal tab and take note of their Post code and remove it and save. Then re-enter the post code and save, try to save the Expense and Benefit again.

Please note: Unfortunately the P46 form is not available within the BrightPay software - the form can be completed on-line on the Government Gateway or a postal submission can be made to HMRC.

 

FAQs

Q. How do I split a car Benefit in Kind (BIK) between 2 employees?

A. To split a UK company car Benefit-in-Kind (BIK) between two employees, you should not adjust the Original Market Value (OMV) or P11D value.

The correct procedure under HMRC's Section 148 ITEPA 2003 rules is:
  • Calculate the full benefit first: Work out the cash equivalent for the car as if each employee had exclusive use of it. You can do this by entering the full car value, C02 emissions etc into one employee's record and making a note of the cash equivalent value.
  • Apportion on a "just and reasonable" basis: You then adjust the final benefit figure for each employee to reflect the shared usage by using the date fields in the software by using the date 'to' and 'from' fields. A 50/50 split is typically accepted by HMRC unless usage records (like mileage logs) support a different ratio.
  • Applying to Payroll: Adjust the "days available" in BrightPay. For a 50/50 split, you would mark the car as available for 183 days for one employee and 182 days for the other.

Important: Ensure the combined benefit figures for both employees equal the total cash equivalent of that single car you made a note of at the start.

Note: If you are payrolling the benefit, you must still calculate the value using standard P11D rules before dividing it across the relevant pay periods.
 
 
Key Rules for Using This Method
  • The 30-Day Rule Exemption: Usually, a car must be unavailable for 30 consecutive days to count as a reduction. However, when a car is shared, this 30-day minimum does not apply in the same way, as the reduction is an "apportionment" of a shared benefit rather than a standard "unavailability" period.
  • The 50/50 Split: If both employees have equal access, a split of 182 and 183 days (to total 365) is generally accepted by HMRC as "just and reasonable."
  • Audit Trail: You should keep a simple internal record (like a memo or email) signed by both employees agreeing to the split. 
 
Please note: the above is how to divide a Car BIK between employees on BrightPay - please contact HMRC for more advice to see if this method would be applicable in your employees' circumstance.
 
 

How to Amend a Payrolled BIK (e.g., Gym Membership) When Cancelled Part Way Through the Year:

  • Calculate the pro-rated BIK cash value outside BrightPay.
    • For example, if the gym membership is only provided in April (1 of 12 months), only 1/12 of the annual value should be reported / payrolled.
  • Then enter the adjusted cash equivalent value for the tax year on the employee’s BIK record in BrightPay, so it only reflects the benefit periods actually given.
  • Remove the BIK amount from the payslips for May onwards.

Note: This same manual pro-rata adjustment is required when an employee leaves mid-year or if a benefit starts mid-year.

 

Q. Why can’t I override the cash equivalent amount for a loan benefit in BrightPay?

A. Loan benefits in BrightPay are not payrolled benefits; they are only reported via a P11D and do not appear on the payslip. Since the loan benefit is not included in payroll for any period and does not show on the payslip, there is no option to override the cash equivalent amount within payroll. The override feature is only available for payrolled benefits that are processed and displayed on the payslip.

For loan benefits, BrightPay automatically calculates the cash equivalent based on the amount borrowed, the repayments made, and the number of full tax months that the loan was in place during the tax year. This calculated value is used solely for P11D reporting purposes.

 

There is no facility in BrightPay to time apportion a van benefit in the same way as a company car. The van benefit is charged at a flat rate for the full tax year regardless of the period of availability — it is not calculated based on specific dates or a percentage of the year. If you have queries about whether a van benefit can be apportioned in your specific circumstances, please contact HMRC directly for guidance as this falls outside of BrightPay software support.

 

There is no dedicated report in BrightPay that lists all benefits added to each employee. However, you can obtain this information as follows:

  • For P11D benefits — go to Employees, select any employee, click the P11D icon and choose Download P11D PDF for all employees
  • For payrolled benefits (PBIK) — go to Employees, select any employee, click the P11D icon and choose Download PBIK PDF for all employees

Both options will produce a document covering all employees, giving you a full picture of the benefits recorded.

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