Meeting your tax obligations shouldn’t cost you more than necessary. At CBM Accounting Ltd, we deliver professional tax return services for individuals, sole traders, company directors, limited companies, partnerships, charities, and trusts across the UK. Our team of experienced accountants ensures every return is filed on time, every allowance is captured, and your tax position is as efficient as the law allows — giving you complete peace of mind and more money where it belongs: in your business.
Whether you need a straightforward self-assessment tax return service or a comprehensive corporation tax filing with capital allowance calculations, CBM Accounting has the expertise to handle it all under one roof.
A Tronc scheme is a specialist pay arrangement used to distribute tips, gratuities, and service charges among employees independently of the employer. When structured and operated correctly under UK law, a qualifying Tronc arrangement allows tip payments to be made free from both Employer and Employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) — delivering significant cost savings for the business and higher net take-home pay for your staff.
However, the rules governing Tronc payroll are complex, and the consequences of getting them wrong are serious. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act — reinforced by the 2026 Statutory Code of Practice — places strict legal obligations on employers regarding the fair, transparent, and timely distribution of all customer tips and service charges. Non-compliance can result in Employment Tribunal claims, HMRC investigations, and the loss of valuable NIC-exempt status.
Managing a Tronc scheme in-house, without specialist knowledge, is a risk no hospitality or service sector business should take. CBM Accounting removes that risk entirely.
The foundation of any compliant Tronc scheme UK is the proper appointment of an independent Troncmaster — a person other than the employer who oversees the distribution of tips. This independence is not just best practice; it is a legal requirement for maintaining the NIC-exempt status of Tronc payments.
We assist in identifying and formally appointing a suitable Troncmaster, establishing the governance framework of your scheme, and registering a dedicated Tronc PAYE scheme with HMRC — entirely separate from your standard payroll. Getting this setup right from day one is what protects your tax savings and your business.
The 2026 Statutory Code of Practice requires businesses to have a clear, written tipping policy that is accessible to both workers and customers. We develop a transparent allocation framework tailored to your business — whether that’s a points-based system, a pooled distribution model, or a hybrid approach — ensuring every member of your team receives their fair share of tips no later than the end of the month following receipt, as required by law.
The primary financial benefit of a properly structured Tronc payroll arrangement is the exemption from National Insurance Contributions. Where an employer distributes tips directly through payroll, both Employer NICs (13.8%) and Employee NICs apply — significantly eroding the value of those tips for all parties.
Through a qualifying Tronc scheme managed by an independent Troncmaster, these NIC liabilities are eliminated. For businesses processing substantial tip volumes, this saving can amount to tens of thousands of pounds annually. We ensure your scheme meets every qualifying condition — protecting your NIC-exempt status at all times.
A Tronc PAYE scheme operates entirely separately from your standard employer payroll. It has its own HMRC registration and requires its own Full Payment Submissions (FPS) to be filed independently — a technical requirement that many payroll providers are not equipped to handle.
Our team manages all Tronc FPS submissions to HMRC with precision, ensuring the independence of the scheme is maintained and that Income Tax on tip payments is reported correctly and on time.
Under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act, businesses are legally required to maintain detailed records of all tips received and distributed for a mandatory three-year period. These records must be available on request to any worker who queries their allocation.
We maintain comprehensive, audit-ready documentation of every Tronc transaction — protecting your business from Employment Tribunal claims, HMRC investigations, and any disputes raised by employees regarding the fairness of their tip allocation.
The NIC-exempt status of your Tronc scheme depends entirely on the genuine independence of the Troncmaster from employer influence. Any “disqualifying influence” — where the employer is found to be directing or controlling the distribution — can invalidate the entire scheme and trigger retrospective NIC liabilities.
We carry out regular reconciliations of Tronc distributions against HMRC records, monitoring for anomalies and ensuring the integrity of your scheme’s independence is maintained throughout the year.
Our Tronc payroll service is designed for any UK business where tips or service charges form a meaningful part of employee compensation, including
Full compliance with the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act and 2026 Code of Practice
Specialist Tronc PAYE scheme registration and independent FPS reporting
Maximum NIC savings through correctly structured exempt processing
Transparent, written tipping policies developed for your specific business
Ongoing discrepancy monitoring to protect scheme independence and tax status
Fixed-fee, transparent pricing — no hidden charges
A well-managed Tronc scheme is one of the most powerful tools available to hospitality and service sector businesses — delivering genuine NIC savings, improving staff retention through fair and transparent tip distribution, and ensuring full legal compliance with the latest UK employment law.
Contact CBM Accounting Ltd today for a free Tronc consultation and let our specialists build, register, and manage a scheme that works for your business and your team.
