HMRC’s official rate of interest set to rise to 2.25%

HMRC’s official rate of interest (ORI) will increase from 2% to 2.25% on 6 April 2023. The ORI is used to calculate the taxable benefit in kind where an employee has a loan from their employer, or their employer provides them with living accommodation. There's no taxable benefit where the aggregate of all loans outstanding to an employee is less than £10,000 throughout the tax year. Above this amount, if a loan is provided to an employee interest free, or at a lower rate of interest than the ORI, the employee is taxed on the difference between the interest paid and the ORI. The situation can therefore be simplified by charging an employee the ORI on a loan.

Employer-provided living accommodation is less common, but the ORI is applied to the value of the property to determine the cash equivalent of the benefit.