P11D is a July problem that starts in April

Employers must report most benefits in kind on form P11D by 6 July after the tax year, and pay Class 1A National Insurance shortly afterwards. Company cars, vans, private medical cover, living accommodation and cheap loans are the usual items. Trivial benefits and certain exemptions exist, but they are narrower than directors often hope.

The common failure is not the form. It is the missing log. A company car without mileage records, a director loan that drifted over £10,000, or medical cover paid on a personal card and reimbursed without a trail. By June those facts are reconstructable only with guesswork, and guesswork does not survive an HMRC check.

Payrolling benefits can be cleaner for some items, because the tax is collected through PAYE during the year. It is not automatic, and it is not always better. We look at the benefit list at the start of the tax year, not the end, and choose the reporting route then.

If you have never filed a P11D because ‘we don’t do benefits’, it is still worth a ten-minute review. A Christmas party, a phone, or a season ticket loan can be enough to put you in the regime. We would rather tell you it is nothing than have HMRC tell you it was something.