24 months and claiming occasional hotel

[subsea]

I have been an on site representative for a company for just over 2 years and like any good contractor I have stopped claiming any mileage and subsistence but I have a question my accountant can't really answer or not give the answer I would like. Is there a way to make a legitimate tax deductable (no BIK) claim for a hotel stay every 4 to 6 weeks to enable me to have an evening meeting with my client when they visit?

[Craig@Clarity]

If you spend less than 40% of your time on site then this is the overriding factor which enables you to claim your travel etc to site. If not then there isn't a way for you to claim the hotel costs every 4 - 6 weeks without tax consequences.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

If the clients are coming to the site that you have worked on for more than 2 years for the evening meeting then unfortunately you would not be able to claim for the cost of the hotel

[subsea]

Just corporation tax?

Many thanks for you replies. Just one further question on this, would it be allowable to consider the hotel as entertaining and then the only tax liability is corporation tax?

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Many thanks for you replies. Just one further question on this, would it be allowable to consider the hotel as entertaining and then the only tax liability is corporation tax?

If you only claimed the cost of the meal that you had with them in the hotel - you could not claim hotel accommodation for reasons stated before

[xoggoth]

Are we all sure about this one? If one was an employee and went home every evening but occasionally had to make a special arrangement to stay late near work for business reasons, wouldn't that be allowable? Quite unreasonable if not.

[Greg@CapitalCity]

I think the issue of travel here is largely irrelevant. The place of work is a permanent workplace, and the claim for accommodation appears not to be related to travel - its related to holding a meeting with a client at an appropriate venue.

It seems reasonable to meet a client after hours for meetings, and if the meeting extends for such a period that travelling home is unreasonable, then the claim for accommodation should stick. For example if the trip home after the meeting relies on getting on a train, and the trains have stopped running, and a taxi fare would be £100, then seems reasonable to allow the claim. If home is a £15 cab ride away, then the hotel claim would appear to be unreasonable. If your meeting with the client is really just to have decent meal and a few pints of beer, then you should pay for the hotel on your personal Visa card, and forget about making an expense claim.