Claiming a rent

[Ltd]

My client is few hundred miles away from my home. Naturally I will have to rent a flat to live there Mon-Fri and sometimes work from there too.
1. Can I claim the rent through my limited company?
2. Is it necessary for the contract to be be between landlord and the limited company or landlord?
3. For some reason landlord is nervous about this idea and wants just my name, not limited company there. Can I still claim rent?
4. Can I call it my office too? Will it make me further away from IR35 as I am renting an office?
Thanks to everyone replied.

[Forbes Young]

My client is few hundred miles away from my home. Naturally I will have to rent a flat to live there Mon-Fri and sometimes work from there too.
1. Can I claim the rent through my limited company?
2. Is it necessary for the contract to be be between landlord and the limited company or landlord?
3. For some reason landlord is nervous about this idea and wants just my name, not limited company there. Can I still claim rent?
4. Can I call it my office too? Will it make me further away from IR35 as I am renting an office?
Thanks to everyone replied.

My advice is to get the contract in your ltd company's name - then it is clear to any HMRC investigation that the cost is a business cost and that the business is paying for the accommodation directly. If this isn't possible, I would still advise that the company pays for the accommodation as you have incurred an incremental cost specifically for business purposes - ie if it wasn't for the fact your company is carrying out a contract, then the cost would not be incurred.

This has nothing at all to do with IR35 - your company's contract with its client and the manner in which you work in the workplace is relevant. You can register the company's registered office address at these premises (for a company registered in England and Wales it should have a registered office address in England or Wales) - but best to ask the landlord's permission first (also if you want to formally record the address as your company's trading address).

Graeme Bennett ACMA MBA

[TykeMerc]

My client is few hundred miles away from my home. Naturally I will have to rent a flat to live there Mon-Fri and sometimes work from there too.
1. Can I claim the rent through my limited company?
2. Is it necessary for the contract to be be between landlord and the limited company or landlord?
3. For some reason landlord is nervous about this idea and wants just my name, not limited company there. Can I still claim rent?
4. Can I call it my office too? Will it make me further away from IR35 as I am renting an office?
Thanks to everyone replied.

1. Yes
2. No, but if you're paying it direct from the company it would make sense
3. Understandable, most landlords wouldn't like it and they prefer to credit check a person
4. You can, but then it's your permanent place of work and the idea of expensing the cost goes out of the window, at least that's a potential argument so personally I'd steer well clear of that. Plus the landlord may object

I've rented away from home and near to sites for years with no problems, I've always rented personally and expensed it to the company which the accountants are comfortable with.

[TheFaQQer]

1. Can I claim the rent through my limited company?

Yes - you can claim anything through your company. Whether it incurs a benefit in kind charge is a different question. However, in this case, you can claim without incurring a benefit in kind.

2. Is it necessary for the contract to be be between landlord and the limited company or landlord?

No, but it helps.

3. For some reason landlord is nervous about this idea and wants just my name, not limited company there. Can I still claim rent?

Yes

4. Can I call it my office too?

Yes. You wouldn't be wise to do that, though, since it would then become a permanent place of work so you wouldn't be able to claim travel there and back from home. And if the landlord isn't happy about a contract with your company, I doubt they would be too ecstatic about you having it as a workplace.

Will it make me further away from IR35 as I am renting an office?

No, it won't make any difference. I suggest you start reading up on IR35.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Accommodation, like travel and subsistence, is treated as an employee expense, not a company one, even if the company pays directly rather than reimbursing. Comsequently it has to be reported on your P11D and the normal employee expenses rules have to be considered.

So I don't see any problem with paying for it personally and having YourCo reimburse if landlord prefers it, just as you might with travel costs.

The important thing is to ensure that the accommodation meets all the rules regarding employee accommodation and employee expenses generally, including the 24 month rule and that you can show its wholly, exclusively and necessarily for business purposes.

[Platypus]

3. For some reason landlord is nervous about this idea and wants just my name, not limited company there.

In this case I'd suggest re-assuring the landlord by offering yourself up as a personal guarantor.

[John8589]

Subsistence usually follows the treatment of the travel allowability.

As the Cycling Programmer kindly points out, the length of the contract will be a deciding factor.