Travel expenses

[grey_lady]

Hi,

I saw on another thread something about how the IR treat all contracts in the city to be in the same place and therefore you cant claim travel expenses if you spend more than 40% of your time there.

When they say the city... what happens if you pass through the square mile when travelling in from your (registered) home address and contract just the other side of it but technically outside of it?

Just started contracting and a bit tired with all this commuting, to be getting my head round tax issues :-)

Advice appreciated....

[xoggoth]

If working full time you can work up to two years there. Best to check out booklet 490 on IR's website for details. The 'square mile' is only an example. Each case is considered on its merits and it is not simply about distance but also about cost and time.

[roger rabbit]

IR no longer exists. It is now a part of the combined HM Revenue & Customs, which is in consequence a more efficient organ of government, give or take a few billion in tax credit and VAT fraud, which is only a result of statistical and data gathering anomalies.

You may thank me later.

[DaveB]

Hi,

I saw on another thread something about how the IR treat all contracts in the city to be in the same place and therefore you cant claim travel expenses if you spend more than 40% of your time there.

When they say the city... what happens if you pass through the square mile when travelling in from your (registered) home address and contract just the other side of it but technically outside of it?

Just started contracting and a bit tired with all this commuting, to be getting my head round tax issues :-)

Advice appreciated....

Travelling through the city doesnt matter, it's the actual location of the client site that matters. Going to work on the tube via St Pauls or Farringdon for example wont get you caught a long as your destination is outside the area.

The 40% rule only applies once you know you will be working at that location for more than 2 years. Note, as soon as you know. Up untill then you can claim full travel expenses from your head office to the client site. As a contractor running a Ltd that is effectively from home. As soon as you reach the two year mark or as soon as you know you will be there for more than 2 years then you can only claim expenses if you spend less than 40% of your working hours there. 2 days a week in effect.

EDIT

Bored waiting for the missus to finish watching CSI so I dug this up as well. Interactove map of the wards of the City of London. Shows the official boundaries of the area that HMRC count as one location.

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corpo...daries_map.htm

[grey_lady]

Aha many thanks.

[Daywalker]

Bored waiting for the missus to finish watching CSI so I dug this up as well.


Miami, New york or vegas?