Free tronc health check
Tronc NIC savings calculator & compliance check
Answer a few questions to estimate the employer National Insurance a qualifying tronc could save on your voluntary tips, how exposed your current arrangement looks, and what we would look at next. No email needed for the result. Estimate only.
Need to split a tip pool between staff instead? Use the tronc calculator for points and hours.
Estimated only
- Qualifying voluntary pool (year)
- £132,000
- Mandatory service charge (year)
- £0
Potential employer NIC saving, only if a qualifying tronc is in place
£19,800
£132,000 × 15% employer NIC · £495 per tipped employee
On these answers the saving is probably not being achieved today. It depends on moving to a qualifying arrangement.
Indicative compliance score
0/100
Your analysis
- Tips are paid as ordinary pay, so employer National Insurance applies in full.
- An owner or director decides the allocation: the employer is involved, so PAYE and NIC stay with the employer.
- No written tipping policy, which the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 requires.
- Allocation records are not kept, so staff requests and HMRC enquiries cannot be answered.
Suggested next step
Consider appointing an independent troncmaster. While the allocation decision sits with the business, the NIC exemption is not available.
Talk to a troncmasterEmail me a copy of this health check (optional)
We'll email the figures above, the findings and the suggested next step, so you can share them with your finance team.
Estimate only, not tax advice. Based on an employer secondary Class 1 National Insurance rate of 15%. The saving applies only to genuinely voluntary tips and discretionary service charge paid through a qualifying tronc where the employer plays no part in the allocation. Under HMRC guidance E24, compulsory service charges paid to staff attract NIC regardless of any tronc, and an independent allocation is necessary but not automatically sufficient. Income tax remains payable under PAYE. The score is indicative and not a substitute for a full tronc audit.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the employer NIC saving on tips calculated?
- Only genuinely voluntary tips and discretionary service charge count. If they are paid through a qualifying tronc, where the employer plays no part in deciding the allocation, they are not subject to employer secondary Class 1 National Insurance. The estimate is that voluntary pool multiplied by the employer NIC rate of 15%. Income tax is still deducted under PAYE.
- Does a tronc remove NIC on a mandatory service charge?
- No. HMRC guidance E24 says that if you impose a mandatory service charge and the money is paid out to employees, National Insurance is always due, however it is shared. Mandatory charges are excluded from the saving.
- Does a tronc scheme remove income tax on tips?
- No. Tips remain taxable income and must be reported through PAYE. A tronc changes the National Insurance treatment, not the income tax treatment.
- What makes a tronc scheme qualify?
- The employer must not be involved in deciding how tips are allocated, and mandatory service charges must not be distributed through the tronc. An independent troncmaster is necessary but not automatically sufficient: written rules, records and how the scheme runs in practice all matter.
- How do the tipping laws affect this?
- The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, in force since 1 October 2024, requires tips to be passed on in full and allocated fairly, with a written policy and records available to staff. A compliant tronc supports the allocation and record-keeping requirements.
- What does the compliance score mean?
- It is an indicative read of how exposed your current arrangement looks, based on who decides the allocation, how tips are distributed, whether a written policy exists, whether records are kept and whether mandatory charges are involved. It is not a substitute for a full tronc audit.