Payroll codes and BIK

Set a category's BIK and payroll code for uploaded receipts, and separately as the default for its benefits, give a single benefit its own code or BIK, and see how the fields depend on your payroll setup.

Two settings decide how a category reaches payroll: whether it is taxed as a benefit (BIK), and which payroll code its amounts are reported on. You set both twice for the category on the Benefit settings page: once for receipts employees upload, and once for the benefits they buy, where they are the defaults for its benefits. A single benefit can still have its own code or its own BIK. This article covers the BIK switch, the payroll code for uploaded receipts, the defaults for benefits, the settings per benefit, and how the fields differ between payroll setups.

Open the category

In the HR menu, open Settings and select Benefit settings. Select the category in the list on the left. Its settings are split over two tabs:

• Upload expense report, for receipts employees upload in the category. BIK and the payroll codes are under Payroll & tax: "How approved receipts are reported on payroll."
• Benefit Store, for the benefits employees buy. BIK and the default payroll code are under Defaults for all benefits, and each benefit has its own row below.

The BIK switch

BIK (Benefit in Kind), "Taxed as a benefit.", decides whether the category is treated as a taxable benefit:

• Off (tax-free): no employer social fee applies, and there is no benefit value (förmånsvärde) to report.
• On (taxable): the employer social fee (31.42% in Sweden) applies to the part paid from the benefit allowance, the benefit value is registered as the employee's förmånsvärde, and the employee is taxed on it on their next payslip after approval.

Whether a category is BIK is your company's choice, not a fixed property of the category. For the full effect on cost, reimbursement and salary deductions, see the article on what the BIK setting does to cost and payroll.

Each tab has its own BIK switch. The one on Upload expense report decides uploaded receipts; the one on Benefit Store is the default for the category's benefits, so a category can be tax-free for receipts and taxable for purchases, or the other way round. When you change the Benefit Store one, every benefit that was on the default follows the new value. A benefit with its own BIK keeps it.

The payroll code for uploaded receipts

On the Upload expense report tab, under Payroll & tax, enter the code your payroll system expects. For most companies there are two fields:

• Payroll code: the code approved receipts are reported on. Under the field you see its Swedish name. With BIK off it is the code for the net amount (Löneart netto). With BIK on it is the code for the benefit value (Löneart förmånsvärde). The two are kept apart, so the field can be empty after you turn BIK on.
• VAT payroll code: optional. Some payroll setups use it to report the deductible VAT on an uploaded receipt on a line of its own. See the article on how deductible VAT is split onto separate payroll lines.

While the category is offered in the upload form with BIK on, Payroll code is required. Until it has a value, the field is edged in red and says "Needed while BIK is on.", and the category shows a red Needs attention dot.

The default for the category's benefits

On the Benefit Store tab, Defaults for all benefits says "Set once. Every benefit below uses these unless you change it." It holds:

• BIK (Benefit in Kind), the Benefit Store's own switch, the default for every benefit below.
• Payroll code, the default code for the benefits, separate from the code on the Upload expense report tab.
• Approval flow, the approval flow for purchases. See the article on choosing an approval flow for a benefit or a category's uploads.

Each benefit uses these defaults until you give it its own setting.

Give a single benefit its own setting

Each row in the Benefits list has these columns:

• Payroll code: while it shows a grey value, such as "839 (default)", the benefit uses the default. "None set" means there is no code to use. Type a code to give the benefit its own. Clear it to go back to the default.
• BIK: Default (Yes) or Default (No) follows the category. Pick Yes or No to set the benefit's own.
• Approval flow and Shown: see the articles on approval flows and on visibility.

A grey value comes from the defaults above. A purple value means the benefit has its own setting. The line under the benefit's name reads Uses the defaults or Has its own settings, and above the list you see how many benefits have their own settings.

A benefit with BIK on needs a payroll code, its own or the default. Until it has one, its code field is edged in red and the category needs attention.

To start over, select Reset all benefits to the defaults above. It clears every benefit's own payroll code and sets BIK and Approval flow back to the defaults. It does not change Shown or a benefit's extra settings. The link only shows while at least one benefit has its own settings.

A benefit can also be listed in a second category. There its row says "Payroll code, BIK and approval are set under" its own category, and only Shown can be changed. See the article on benefits listed in more than one category.

How the fields depend on your payroll setup

The payroll fields follow the payroll system your company is set up with:

• Most companies type a free-text code: the code your own payroll system uses. CLVR can't check it, so enter exactly what your payroll system expects. The benefits list has one Payroll code column.
• Companies connected to Kleer pick each code from Kleer's list of lönearter instead of typing it. If Kleer can't be reached, the page says so and shows the stored values. If Kleer has no lönearter turned on for your company, the page says "Kleer exposes no lönearter for this company. Their Kleer consultant enables this under Settings, Payroll Item."
• Some companies with their own payroll file see four codes on the Upload expense report tab: Net payroll code, Gross payroll code, Benefit value payroll code and VAT payroll code, and four matching columns in the benefits list. A help icon next to Payroll & tax shows which column of the payroll file each code fills. Defaults for all benefits has its own four codes too. A benefit with an empty code field uses the default code of the same kind, shown in grey, and a benefit with no code at all is left out of the payroll file.

Save your changes

Select Save changes in the bar at the bottom of the page. One save covers every category you changed. The message "Saved. Payroll codes apply from the next payroll run." confirms it. BIK applies to receipts uploaded and benefits bought after you save.

Troubleshooting

• "Needed while BIK is on." under a field. The category, or one of its benefits, is BIK but has no payroll code. Enter the code, or turn BIK off if the category is not a taxable benefit.
• The payroll code field is empty after I turned BIK on. With BIK on, the field holds the code for the benefit value, which is a different code from the net amount. Enter it.
• A benefit ignores the category's payroll code. The benefit has its own code, shown in purple. Clear it, or select Reset all benefits to the defaults above.
• A benefit kept its BIK when I changed the default. It has its own BIK. Set its BIK to the Default option.
• The BIK column shows No and I can't change it. The benefit is salary sacrifice to pension, which is never BIK.
• I can't change the code or BIK on a benefit. It is listed here from another category. Open the category named on its row.
• I see four code fields, not one. Your company has its own payroll file with four codes. Fill in the codes your payroll team gives you, and use the help icon to see where each one goes.