Expenses for potential one-off contract?

[laura1304]

I'm very new to agency work and was hoping someone would be able to give me some advice on whether or not I should/could claim expenses. I have recently signed a contract through an agency to work as a locum in the NHS. The contract has no end date, however, I expect it to last around 3 months as I am going travelling in Feb.

This is where I am confused, I know that if the contract is a one off or lasts longer than 24 months then I cannot claim expenses. However, once I return from travelling I will take up more agency work, the problem is I am not sure about how long the gap will be between this contract and the next. It could be a few months or it could be a year or more. Is there a time limit between each contract? Would it be too risky to claim expenses (I have to rent accommodation as the contract is 80 miles from my home address) not knowing when my next contract will be? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[northernladuk]

There is plenty of advice on the 24 month rule in the newbies section, google and a raft of older posts which you can find using the search method.

24 month rule is all about location not client. If you are worried about resetting the clock then apply the 40% rule I.e. 40% of your time in a location over a 2 year period.

Also another point is you should stop when you KNOW the contract is going to last over 24 months. If you have a contract with no end date then it's reasonable to expect you'll be there in 24 months so I'd guess you can't claim anything. Doesn't having a contract with no end date open a whole host of other issues?

[NotAllThere]

If you switch employer with each contract*, then you cannot claim T&S.


* Umbrella company, your own ltd company or even agency, if that's who employs you.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

In order to be able to claim travel and subsistence expenses, which includes accommodation, you need to be able to demonstrate that you are travelling to a temporary workplace according to the rules laid down by HMRC EIM32075 - Travel expenses: travel for necessary attendance: definitions: temporary workplace (that probably won't help much tbh); if you know that you will only work on a single assignment as a contractor then it will automatically be considered a permanent workplace and the expense won't be allowed.