Contractors claiming for allowance

[andy-moo]

Okay,

but the subsistence can be claimed if your working time is taking you over normal meal times e.g. normaly people eat breakfast at 8a.m. If their job requires them to be up and away at 6a.m. then they claim breakfast as an expense, likwise with dinner. I do understand that lunch is not counted.

so if this applies to the contractor he can claim upto £26 per day (if is working day is over say 10hours for example as it would put him out)

Some brollies have an agreement with HMRC to allow upto a certain amount of standard subsistence each day too.

[TheFaQQer]

so if this applies to the contractor he can claim upto £26 per day (if is working day is over say 10hours for example as it would put him out)

Some brollies have an agreement with HMRC to allow upto a certain amount of standard subsistence each day too.

NO THEY DON'T!!!!!!!

Many companies have a dispensation that says that the employee does not have to produce receipts to the umbrella company and that they don't need to go on the P11D. No company has an agreement with HMRC that you can claim anything per day.

If you spend the money on a valid business expense, then you can claim it. If you don't, then you can't. The person who would get shafted through this would be the employee - not the umbrella company. If HMRC investigate, and there are no receipts, and you have just blanket claimed because someone else told you it was OK, then you are absolutely screwed.

[Bluebird]

Correct.

The sooner people understand this the better.

This sort of info should be on a stickey at the top of this board.

[Gonzo]

This sort of info should be on a stickey at the top of this board.

[TheFaQQer]

Correct.

The sooner people understand this the better.

This sort of info should be on a stickey at the top of this board.

I think it's probably in the contractor umbrella thread that has a sticky.

Sadly, people don't want to listen, so repeatedly ask the same question hoping that eventually they will hear the one thing they want to (just claim everything, it's all OK, you can just claim £100 a day with no receipts etc. etc.), or turn abusive if they don't hear it.

It's been done to death so many times that people really should be able to search, or deserve everything they get.

I'm off to claim my £1000 for today's subsistence, with no receipts, now...

[Hevra]

Okay,

but the subsistence can be claimed if your working time is taking you over normal meal times e.g. normaly people eat breakfast at 8a.m.

I've started work by 8am and I've just got a bog standard office monkey job ;_;

Hevra

[salazie]

Hi Andymoo,

You cannot claim a daily allowance for food as it is not a business expense - the IR put it this way:

There is a variety of expenses that the courts have held, because of their nature, to have an intrinsic duality of purpose and as such are not an allowable deduction. These include:

Ordinary ‘civilian’ clothing.
Food for sustenance.
Having somewhere to live.
Wishing to enjoy good health.
Wishing to avoid a criminal conviction - especially if there is a custodial sentence.
Helping one’s nearest and dearest.
For expenditure that comes within these categories you do not have to establish a non-trade purpose; by their nature there is an intrinsic non-trade purpose and any expenditure is disallowed.

HTH

I'm just playing devil's advocate here (I work through a Ltd co but have used umbrellas in the past) but the above just doesn't seem right to me. Most people have a permanent place of residence on which they pay a mortgage or rent; when working away from home you necessarily have to stay elsewhere, eg in a hotel at £80/night - are you saying this can't be claimed if working through an umbrella company? What about the fact that it's almost always impossible to make any of your own food when staying somewhere temporarily? The normal weekly shop at Sainsburys isn't possible, you have to spend more eating out for breakfast and dinner, and therefore it's a necessary business expense.

If you can commute from home then it's a whole different story, but if you're staying 200 miles from home then I can't believe you can't claim food and accommodation as expenses...

[r0bly0ns]

No, it's saying you can't claim the rent / mortage or food for normal day to day work.

There are different rules for when staying away from home overnight.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Okay,

but the subsistence can be claimed if your working time is taking you over normal meal times e.g. normaly people eat breakfast at 8a.m. If their job requires them to be up and away at 6a.m. then they claim breakfast as an expense, likwise with dinner. I do understand that lunch is not counted.

so if this applies to the contractor he can claim upto £26 per day (if is working day is over say 10hours for example as it would put him out)

Some brollies have an agreement with HMRC to allow upto a certain amount of standard subsistence each day too.

No, this is not the case. If your normal working day starts at 6am you cannot claim for breakfast; if your normal working day ends at 8pm you cannot claim for dinner because it is your normal working day. If you normally leave work at 5pm but a problem means you don't leave until 9pm it would not be considered unreasonable for you to claim the cost of a meal. You cannot claim £26 each and every day for meals if you are working at the same place each day! Or rather you can but the penalties for tax avoidance will be harsh when HMR&C catch up with you.

[andy-moo]

No, this is not the case. If your normal working day starts at 6am you cannot claim for breakfast; if your normal working day ends at 8pm you cannot claim for dinner because it is your normal working day. If you normally leave work at 5pm but a problem means you don't leave until 9pm it would not be considered unreasonable for you to claim the cost of a meal. You cannot claim £26 each and every day for meals if you are working at the same place each day! Or rather you can but the penalties for tax avoidance will be harsh when HMR&C catch up with you.

Are you an accountant?