BIM47060 - Specific deductions: staffing costs: health and safety

Purchase of occupational health support - summary

Business and industry needs healthy workers and safe workplaces. To achieve this, employers may sometimes wish to buy specialist advice or special equipment or to provide advice and health care to those who work for them. An employer can obtain a deduction in calculating trade profits for payments to employees, provided the expenditure is wholly and exclusively for the purpose of the trade and is not capital.

If the expenditure is capital, for example where significant alterations or improvements result from the work done, the expenditure is not deductible but may qualify for capital allowances. For guidance on the capital/revenue divide, see BIM35000 onwards.

You can see a help sheet that explains the rules and gives examples on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) web site. The address is http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/taxrules.pdf.