Tax relief on permanent employment which is far from home?

[forumuser]

Greetings all. If I was to contract for a particular client far from my home, (250 miles away) requiring accomodation and travel each week, then my Ltd company could expense this (subject to conditions).

But what if I was offered a permanent position at the company, still working several days flexibly from home, but usually required several days in their office each week.

Could the employer say my regular place of work was at home, but that I could claim the travel/accom expenses through them for visiting their site? (About £1k a month for train/hotel) Or if not, would there be some other tax relief alternative that could help?

In short, if you're offered a reasonable permanent job far away, but you'd have to pay good money to get there (and you can't move home) then are there any options to make it work? (Building the logistics cost into the salary doesn't seem to help, due to increased overall tax)

Many thanks.

[WTFH]

Greetings all. If I was to contract for a particular client far from my home, (250 miles away) requiring accomodation and travel each week, then my Ltd company could expense this (subject to conditions).

But what if I was offered a permanent position at the company, still working several days flexibly from home, but usually required several days in their office each week.

Could the employer say my regular place of work was at home, but that I could claim the travel/accom expenses through them for visiting their site? (About £1k a month for train/hotel) Or if not, would there be some other tax relief alternative that could help?

In short, if you're offered a reasonable permanent job far away, but you'd have to pay good money to get there (and you can't move home) then are there any options to make it work? (Building the logistics cost into the salary doesn't seem to help, due to increased overall tax)

Many thanks.

Well, the main condition it would be subject to is the 24 month rule.
As soon as you are aware that a contract may last more than 24 months, then you can no longer claim.

Thus, by taking a permanent role, you are expecting it to last more than 24 months, so no, there's no tax relief for that.
Your only option is to negotiate a rate which after tax will be enough for you to be happy.

[malvolio]

Well, the main condition it would be subject to is the 24 month rule.
As soon as you are aware that a contract may last more than 24 months, then you can no longer claim.

Thus, by taking a permanent role, you are expecting it to last more than 24 months, so no, there's no tax relief for that.
Your only option is to negotiate a rate which after tax will be enough for you to be happy.

Not quite. If this is an enforced move, then your employer should cover the cost for two years in some manner, be it mileage or relocation cots (or both if you're really lucky). If it's your choice, tax relief for travel to a permanent position simply isn't available; apart from anything else, your new job will be your permanent place of work.

Got caught by that myself many years ago. Took a role that was supposed to move 50 miles down the road in the next two months so was encouraged to buy the house in the new area. Then they changed their minds (or had it changed for them, more likely) so I was stuck with a 100 mile daily commute. And all at my own cost...

(Not all bad though - I could have moved to Swindon... )

[forumuser]

If you worked 3 days from home, and 2 days at the employers site (40%)... would that make a difference?

[malvolio]

If you worked 3 days from home, and 2 days at the employers site (40%)... would that make a difference?

No. He's an employee. No tax relief applies.

[mudskipper]

If your permanent place of employment is A, and your employer requires you to attend site B (anticipated attendance less than two years) , then that T&S is not subject to personal tax or BIK.

Reasonable examples here WattsGregory LLP Accountants Cardiff

"Example 1

Nilesh usually commutes by car between home in York and a normal place of work in Leeds. This is a daily round trip of 48 miles. On a particular day, Nilesh instead drives from home in York to a temporary place of work in Nottingham. A total round trip of 174 miles.

A tax deduction for any costs incurred by Nilesh and not reimbursed by his employer would be deductible. Alternatively, if borne by his employer this would not be taxable earnings if provided within the statutory limits where a mileage allowance system operates."

"Example 2

Matt is employed by a chain of sports shops and his duties require him to attend 2 different stores for 2.5 days each. Whilst travel between the locations is an allowable cost – both home to work journeys are ordinary commuting."


I read it that if, on accepting the job the understanding is that you will wfh x days, and from office x days, then example 2 applies - neither are temporary workplaces.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I think it’s unlikey. Even if you’re working from home three days a week, it is possible for both your home AND the office to be considered permanent places of work.

[Old Greg]

I think it’s unlikey. Even if you’re working from home three days a week, it is possible for both your home AND the office to be considered permanent places of work.

This is an interesting thread and maybe I've misunderstood the 24 month rule and all the trimmings around it.

If the OP's permanent place of work is home and the OP attends other sites for no more than 40% of the time, why would a BIK arise if the OP's employer refunds mileage, train tickets etc?

[Lance]

This is an interesting thread and maybe I've misunderstood the 24 month rule and all the trimmings around it.

If the OP's permanent place of work is home and the OP attends other sites for no more than 40% of the time, why would a BIK arise if the OP's employer refunds mileage, train tickets etc?

That scenario is fine. Whether a place of work is permanent or temporary is unrelated to the employment status.
My last perm job was home based so all travel to the office was expensed to the company. As it was repaid at 45p per mile no BIK was incurred.
That was for 6 years and at no point was I there for 40% of the time.

[DeludedKitten]

Could the employer say my regular place of work was at home, but that I could claim the travel/accom expenses through them for visiting their site?

Yes