INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The research insisted that the process for filing reimbursement claims needs to be simplified.
Companies often offer the option of filing medical, conveyance and telephone bills to
their employees, to claim income tax deduction
However, a significant majority of employees opt out of it thinking that this will increase their-in-hand salary, a survey found
The survey by data measurement company Nielsen and fintech startup Zeta stressed on the need to make employees aware of the income tax
benefits that these reimbursement claims offer
A total of 56 six per cent of employees who opt out of reimbursements do so for a higher in-hand salary, according to the findings of the
Nielsen-Zeta survey.)"Because reimbursements are first deducted from salary (before being credited upon bill-verification) there's a sense
of loss employees perceive
Those who have opted out of employee benefits thinking they'll get a higher in-hand salary are therefore foregoing an actual profit in the
future for a notional benefit in the present," the Zeta-Nileson report stated.(: With Income Tax Filing Dates Around The Corner, A Guide To
File Returns)Offerings under tax-saving benefitsMost popularly, medical reimbursements, telephone/internet and fuel reimbursements have been
offered in companies as tax-saving benefits to employees
Leave travel allowance (LTA) and a gadget or asset allowance are also offered frequently in many companies, although these are sometimes
reserved for higher-salaried or senior employees
Medical reimbursements has traditionally been the most sought-after benefit, but that will now undergo a big change, as standard deduction
survey.)Contrary to belief, not many companies prefer to provide meal vouchers, according to the report
Gift vouchers are the least popular employee tax benefit of all, it noted.Digital filings for reimbursementsThe research insisted that the
process for filing reimbursement claims needs to be simplified
The survey found that 62 per cent of employees claim that the reimbursement process is time-consuming and 23 minutes is the average time
taken by an employee to submit a single claim.Employees lose productive time in submitting these reimbursements claims
According to the survey, 90 per cent of them prefer digital reimbursements
This is in stark contrast to the fact that only 6 per cent of all companies surveyed provide it
Managing physical/paper bills, especially illegible and invalid ones, can cause major delays in the process
Stalled verification can cause undue anxiety to employees, who have no efficient way of tracking their claims
Many companies take more than eight days to process each claim, with some taking upwards of two weeks."Make the process transparent, make it
easy, and make it relevant
That's when employees are encouraged to opt in for something, and value it," stated the report.A total of 1,233 employees were interviewed
in the Nielson-Zeta survey
About 568 of them were from the manufacturing sector and 665 from the services sector
Full-time employees of companies, who have worked in the company for at least two years and are eligible to receive tax-saving
Out of this, 92 companies were from the manufacturing sector and 102 are from the service sector
deciding reimbursement policies or are responsible for processing employee reimbursements, were also a part of the survey.
