Business travel expenses query

[Old Greg]

It would be good to get a view from on of the proper accountants on the forum.

[WTFH]

I have booked the holiday travel (not really booked a holiday as staying with family. Wife and kids will actually be there for a month, so more of a home from home).

I provide fixed price to clients including all necessary UK travel, so no use consulting them, but I am required by contract to carry out the negotiations, so need to be at the meetings.

As it happens, I know roughly when the meetings will be, but have not arranged the actual meetings yet as it will depends on a selection process to select the people to negotiate with.

Lurker, I didn't think there was any requirement to manage business journeys from home to a place of work, in fact, home to place of work would usually be excluded. Isn't a journey for business is a journey for business regardless of where it began.

I don't use an accountant as I have relatively straight forward company tax affairs (by the time I've raised my 6 or 7 invoices a year and pulled together the necessary stuff that woudl go to an accountant, I have already calculated everything required for quarterly FRS VAT and co. accounts). Advice on small things like this isn't worth the cost. If it is at all likely to attract the wrong interest then it's probably worth avoiding. In any case, I would have thought most accountants wouldn't provide definitive advice on such a matter and their insurance would usually cover reasonable skill and care, so they should advise that it is grey area and the businesses risk to take.

Sorry, based on this post, I'm not going to be able to help you.

You've booked your holiday in full knowledge that meetings need to take place.
You're holiday is maybe 2 weeks, maybe 3, maybe a month.
You haven't specified how long the meetings will go on for, but seem to imply it's 5 days of them
You want to expense flying from your holiday destination home for a few days
You don't think you need an accountant.

[Old Greg]

Sorry, based on this post, I'm not going to be able to help you.

You've booked your holiday in full knowledge that meetings need to take place.
You're holiday is maybe 2 weeks, maybe 3, maybe a month.
You haven't specified how long the meetings will go on for, but seem to imply it's 5 days of them
You want to expense flying from your holiday destination home for a few days
You don't think you need an accountant.

The OP seems to get on fine without an accountant for day to day purposes but has a one off specific question. And it's quite an interesting one that may be of broader benefit to contractors.

The travel does appear to be wholly and exclusively for business but my gut tells me it's not allowable. I'm just wondering what the gotcha is.

[vwdan]

The OP seems to get on fine without an accountant for day to day purposes but has a one off specific question. And it's quite an interesting one that may be of broader benefit to contractors.

The travel does appear to be wholly and exclusively for business but my gut tells me it's not allowable. I'm just wondering what the gotcha is.

See, perhaps I'm oversimplifying but the fact that the travel wouldn't happen (Assuming that's true) otherwise makes it fairly clear cut to me. I don't see how it matters whether he knew before or not - if you have a contract in London, but move to Scotland you can still claim travel to London.

Personally, I'd expense it for sure.

[WTFH]

... if you have a contract in London, but move to Scotland you can still claim travel to London...

But that's the thing that's in my mind - if you move your permanent residence, then I wouldn't have an issue, but where you are moving to a temporary residence for a holiday, then that may be treated differently.

I vaguely remember a thread on here ages ago about a guy who wanted to put flights from Australia on business expenses arguing that he might have an interview to go to, therefore they were work related.

So one of the questions would be "are they wholly for the purposes of work?"
Well, if he's flying to the client site and being based there, not at home, then it would be a bit easier to say yes, they were purely for the purpose of work.
If he's flying to home, staying there, picking up a car then driving to the client's site (for example) for two days, but spending the week, then it could be argued that his business travel was from home to the client, not from holiday to client.

[Old Greg]

But that's the thing that's in my mind - if you move your permanent residence, then I wouldn't have an issue, but where you are moving to a temporary residence for a holiday, then that may be treated differently.

I vaguely remember a thread on here ages ago about a guy who wanted to put flights from Australia on business expenses arguing that he might have an interview to go to, therefore they were work related.

So one of the questions would be "are they wholly for the purposes of work?"
Well, if he's flying to the client site and being based there, not at home, then it would be a bit easier to say yes, they were purely for the purpose of work.
If he's flying to home, staying there, picking up a car then driving to the client's site (for example) for two days, but spending the week, then it could be argued that his business travel was from home to the client, not from holiday to client.

Look at it this way. If you were an employee enjoying two weeks in Benidorm, or wherever it is that permies go on holiday, and your boss begged you to fly back for a client pitch and said they would pay for one flight back from Benidorm Airport and then another flight to Benidorm Airport, would there really be a BIK?

[Lurker101]

Lurker, I didn't think there was any requirement to manage business journeys from home to a place of work, in fact, home to place of work would usually be excluded. Isn't a journey for business is a journey for business regardless of where it began.

https://forums.contractoruk.com/acco...-nutshell.html

Base to a temporary place of work is expensable if you are outside of IR35. But your accountant could have told you that. Oh wait.....