Christmas gifts for staff.
Christmas gifts for staff in Ireland, tax-free.
Many Irish employers give staff a Christmas voucher under Revenue’s small benefit exemption. Here’s what the rules allow, a few ideas that beat another shop card, and when to order so it arrives in time.
Guide · Updated
The tax-free rules for a Christmas gift
Under the small benefit exemption, a Christmas gift is free of PAYE, USC and PRSI if it is:
- Not cash, and can’t be swapped for cash: a voucher, card, pass or hamper
- Paid for by the company, not taken from salary
- A gift, not part of a contract or bonus
From 1 January 2025 each employee can get up to five such benefits a year, worth up to €1,500 in total. A Christmas voucher counts as one of the five, so check what each person has already had this year. These are Revenue’s figures; check them, or ask your accountant, before you buy.
Ideas that people remember
- A sauna voucher for a sauna near home. An hour of heat and cold water in the darkest weeks of the year, at a small local business. It suits people who have enough stuff.
- A pack of sauna sessions. Five or ten sessions to use through January and February, when people need it most.
- A team sauna in January. Instead of one more December night out, book the whole sauna for the team in the new year.
- A hamper from local producers. Food from small Irish makers near your office.
- A choice. Let each person pick from two or three local options. More people use a gift they chose.
Why local
A shop card from a chain is easy, and most of the money goes to the chain. A voucher for an independent sauna in your staff’s own area pays a small local business, and it is something people do rather than spend. That is easy to say in a Christmas staff email, and true.
When to order
- Early November: ask staff where they live, or which area suits them, so the vouchers are for places they will go.
- Mid-November: ask for prices and an invoice in your company name with your VAT number.
- Early December: pay, and get the codes. Codes can be emailed to each person or handed out as a list.
Gift vouchers sold in Ireland last at least five years under the Consumer Protection (Gift Vouchers) Act 2019, so nobody has to rush to use one.
Sauna vouchers through Olladay
Olladay is booking software for independent saunas in Ireland and the UK. Tell us where your staff are and we’ll reply with the saunas near them, what they offer and the prices. You can buy vouchers or packs from the sauna itself, with an invoice in its name, or an Olladay wellness card for each person from us, on one invoice, to use at any of our saunas that take it.
Questions
Is a Christmas voucher for staff tax-free in Ireland?
Yes, if it can’t be exchanged for cash, the company pays for it and it isn’t part of pay. From 2025 it counts as one of up to five benefits, worth up to €1,500 in total a year.
Can we give staff cash at Christmas instead?
Cash, or anything that can be swapped for cash, is taxed as pay. Only non-cash vouchers and gifts qualify for the small benefit exemption.
Does a Christmas party count as a small benefit?
A staff party is usually treated as staff entertainment, not one of the five small benefits. Ask your accountant.
How long do sauna vouchers last?
At least five years from the day they’re bought, under the Consumer Protection (Gift Vouchers) Act 2019.