Meal allowance

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

That's eating out in central London for you...I've been eating here on my current contract; nice food but pricey (but where isn't?).

[NotAllThere]

Perhaps you should read the rules properly. Doesn't "working away from home" rather imply you are out of the house more than 10 hours a day...?

Perhaps you should read the post properly. 5 hours commute + 10 hours on site. Doesn't that imply out of house more than 10 hours a day.

[spig]

My accountant advises I can claim reasonable costs for food when on client site, eg cafe or sandwich. I can't claim for anything brought from supermarket to make own sandwiches, which I'd never do in any case.

I think you should be allowed to claim, as at home if not working on client sites I would eat supermarket food which is far cheaper. Clientco unsuprisingly doesn't provide a kitchen for me to cook in, therefore I have to go and eat lunch in the centre of London, not something I'd do from home.

[Hex]

A previous thread which goes into some detail on the issue of claiming subsistence is here:

http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...ubsitance.html

[Bob Jones]

Fist of all the travel has to be allowable - either in the performance of the dutes of the employment or to a temporary workplace. The cost of travel includes the associated subsistence. With regard to meals the definitive answer is this :
We eat in order to live not in order to work but where the duties of the employment dictate that more is spent on food than would otherwise be the case then the extra cost is allowable. It is impossible to identify the extra cost so, where it can be demonstrated that more is spent HMRC, will allow the total cost.
Form a practical point of view a director of his/her own compny has to be extra careful because there is no independent audit of the expense so for piece of mind restrict the claim to the actual costs backed up by receipts - if it is not possible to obtain a receipt then make a diary note at the time.
Employees of Umbrellas - most umbrellas pay a scale rate but there is still the requirement that more has to have been spent on food than would otherwise have been the case - an employee taking sandwiches from home is simply not entitled to claim and providing false information to the Umbrella in order to claim meal allowance could have serious repercussions on the employee.
HMRC have announced their intentions regarding Umbrellas and they will not be looking at the claims they will be looking through them .. where a scale charge applies it is not a requirement to keep receipts but it may be wise to do so - just in case ....

Bob