AllGo Mastercard
+ Amplify

Get more from AllGo. Amplify your Recognition

AllGo brings together Mastercard gift cards and our Amplify recognition technology to help organisations get more from the Small Benefit Scheme.

Award-Winning Recognition

Amplify offers award-winning incentive, reward and recognition solutions to companies with 50-5,000 staff. This simple but powerful platform engages staff, embeds values, and creates a connected culture – while reducing HR admin.

And it is optimised for the Small Benefit Scheme, with real-time ERR reports and built-in Revenue compliance.

Amplify creates the recognition. AllGo Mastercard makes it rewarding. Together, they inspire more.

Schedule a demo today or email team@amplifysuccess.com if you’d like to request more info.

How It Works

Set the Budget

Each company decides what their points are worth (eg €1), and how many points to award for each element of the programmes – eg Service Awards, Manager Awards, Peer Recognition, EOTM, Birthday Rewards, Safety, Training, Referrals etc.

Award Points to Staff

Points are awarded to staff in throughout the year – either automatically (eg Service Awards), by nominations (eg peer recognition), or with points uploads (eg team awards). Points are emailed to staff and added to each employee’s online balance.

Convert Points

Each company decides how many times per year accumulated points will be converted into tax-free gift cards. The points conversion module manages the reporting and ensures no employee exceeds the Small Benefit limits.

Issue the AllGo Mastercard

Once the company has approved the Points Conversion Report, and made the required Enhanced Revenue Report (ERR) return to Revenue, employees will be sent an AllGo Mastercard Gift Card to the value of the points converted.

Small Benefit Scheme Guide

Download this free pdf to get all the details on how to reward employees tax-free in Ireland.

This Guide Covers-

Small Benefit Rules
Tax-Saving Calculations
Best Gift Cards Options for Staff
Revenue Returns – Enhanced Revenue Reporting
Paying Bonuses Tax-Free
Year-Round Tax-Free Rewards
Other Staff Tax Saving Schemes
Small Benefit FAQs

Small Benefit Scheme – Top FAQs

Do you need to report to Revenue for Small Benefit?

Yes – you do as it is part of Enhanced Revenue Reporting (ERR), which came into effect from the 1st of January 2024. This new legislation means that you need to report each award made under the Scheme to Revenue.

This is for reporting purposes only, there is no tax implication – the return includes the employee details and the amount of the award. You can make your return directly on ROS, but normally the return is made via your payroll system.

For more details, read our Enhanced Revenue Reporting blog post here.

Can you use the Small Benefit Scheme to pay bonuses tax-free?

Yes, you can, as long as the bonus is discretionary and does not form part of the employee’s contractual remuneration package (i.e. specified in the employment contract).

Discretionary bonuses qualify for the Small Benefit Scheme but contractual remuneration does not (as salary sacrifice is not allowed).

Also, the limits of the Scheme mean that a maximum of 5 tax-free bonus rewards can be given in any one year up to €1,500 combined. This may cover some, but not all, of the bonus amount so anything over the limit would need to be paid via payroll subject to normal tax.

Can Sole Traders and Self-Employed people avail of the Small Benefit Scheme?

Sole Traders cannot avail of the Scheme because they do not receive Schedule E income from their businesses. Employees of Sole Traders, however, can avail of the Scheme.

For self-employed people, so long as they are in receipt of “Schedule E” income from their company (on which income tax, PRSI and USC is being deducted), they are entitled to avail of the scheme. Note, however, that as there is no employer PRSI for self-employed workers so the overall tax savings may be 11.15% less than for employed workers.

Do part-time employees qualify for the full Small Benefit Scheme?

Yes, they do. No distinction is made by Revenue between full and part-time employees. As long as the person is an employee of the company or business, they can avail of the full €1,500 tax-free limit regardless of the number of hours they work.

Can company directors avail of the Small Benefit Scheme?

Potentially yes. In understanding whether a company director qualifies for the Scheme, the key factor is whether the director is considered an employee, as the legislation behind the Scheme states that the voucher must be “given to an employee by his or her employer“. Therefore, the following commonly applies –

Proprietary Director – qualifies for the Scheme as long as they are in paid employment in the company. As proprietary directors are classified as self-employed for PRSI, and there is no employer PRSI for self-employed workers, the overall tax-saving may be 11.15% less than for non-proprietary directors.
Salaried Director – qualifies for the Scheme as they clearly satisfy the employer / employee relationship requirement.
Director who receives Directors’ Fees – qualifies for the Scheme as long as the directors fees are paid via payroll (which is the method Revenue recommends).
Non-Exec Director who receives Dividend Income – though not specifically excluded from the Scheme, these directors may not satisfy the employer / employee relationship requirement. Companies should seek their own specific tax advice on this.
Unpaid Directors – normally do not qualify for the Scheme as they are not employed by the company. In some cases, employed directors can forego salary while still being considered employed. Companies should seek their own specific tax advice on this.

AllGo Mastercard + Amplify