Pied a terre

[hugebrain]

Quick question about company paying rent. My home is outside London, so generally when I take a contract in the City the rent can be paid from the company before tax.

Now post-Covid if I want to work a couple of days in the office, it makes sense to have somewhere by the beach for working from home and a pied a terre in London for when I have to be in the office.

is this OK tax wise? Or would I have to pay for one of the places myself?

[Lance]

so you want your company to pay for a flat in London, and a house by the beach?
And you have another property anyway?

Even MPs cannot do that.......

[hugebrain]

so you want your company to pay for a flat in London, and a house by the beach?
And you have another property anyway?

Even MPs cannot do that.......

Just trying to save some money since I can’t afford a nice place in central London, by the beach should be cheaper. Even though this makes me pay more tax.

Of course I have another property, otherwise The company wouldn’t be allowed to pay for even one place near the office.

[Lance]

The last I heard is that if you stay there for 7 days a week then no.
If you stay there only whilst working at client's site then it's OK.
But there is a grey area (some say not grey at all) where it is available to you 7 days a week even though you promise to never use it. It would be a benefit in kind.
Hotels are simpler. Service accommodation and Airbnb is easier as you would just book the days you stay.
If you can find a renter who will rent to you based on a contract where you are NOT allowed to use it at the weekend that might help.

[northernladuk]

Rules haven't changed and been in place since year dot. Millions of articles on google, search on here or ask your accountant would have found the answer to you.

You can't claim for the days it's available but you are not using it for business. You can only claim the days you are staying in it. Remember it's still all coming out of your pocket all-be-it at a slight discount for the few days you are using it.,

Also gets more complex if the London property is used more than the beach one as well so need to understand the rules first then apply to your situation if it's complicated. I suspect there is more detail we don't know here which may have an impact so flip it round, know the rule then apply it, not just stab at random questions with no detail.

[Fred Bloggs]

Just another of the "trying to be too clever" questions

[northernladuk]

Just another of the "trying to be too clever" questions

Indeed but why don't people research them and try understand it before asking their 'clever' questions?

[Fred Bloggs]

Indeed but why don't people research them and try understand it before asking their 'clever' questions?

Because if they did, there'd be no CUK forums?

[malvolio]

More a case of someone else not really understanding the separation of them and their company and that they are two separate legal persons...

[ladymuck]

Before I moved to London, I used to rent a place and had a contract with the owner where it was categorically stated that I couldn't stay at weekends (Fri-Sun nights inclusive) and, if I wanted to, I would have to ask permission and pay for the extra nights. I could leave my stuff there though.

The flat was a two-bed that the owner used to use for occasional visits to town so I only rarely had to share it with them. They were also ex-contractors so understood how to arrange the rental to make it as allowable a business expense as possible and issued invoices to my LtdCo instead of me personally.

It was a lovely pad, in a really nice area. I keep an eye out in case a property in the same location ever comes on the market