The 24 Month Rule in a nutshell

[MrBen]

Contract then falls below 40%

So what happens for example if you are inside the 40% rule after working at a client site for more than 2 years but continuing on the same contract you work at your homne office that then takes you below the 40% for the year? Does this mean you need to claim back all expenses for the year?

[northernladyuk]

I don't think so, but maybe you could follow in the footsteps of our MPs and simply claim for travel from the business address (which has stayed the same) to the new house. Although it'll have to be in a different area (i.e. county, region) right?

Agreed. There may be a bit of confusion sown by the rules as IIRC there is reference to the journey. But this is really about determining whether the 24 months reset if your location of work moves a bit. The reality is that this rule is about where your permanent place of work is. And once you can reasonably expect that you will be there >24 months, then it is your permanent place of work, so you can't claim travel.

[malvolio]

Thanks for the replys.

Final question from me on this then.

I make a claim for 24 months then my home office moves address, the end clinet remains the same but my daily commute from my business address is significantly different to the same end client.

Does the 24 month rule reset in these circumstances ?

Regards

Perhaps.

As per the original post in this whole thread, "it's about the journey". If the journey changes, you would think the rule does. However there are several potential gotchas, such as should you only claim for the difference between old and new journeys, if the new journey is shorter should you claim at all since your costs have reduced and so on.

The main one though is that the client's work location after 24 months is deemed to be your permanent place of work (which is what this is all about after all) and that status hasn't changed, in which case you still can't claim. You would need to trawl through HMRC's website to find out the answer to that one, but I strongly suspect that you still can't claim.

[SeanT]

Thanks for the replys.

Final question from me on this then.

I make a claim for 24 months then my home office moves address, the end clinet remains the same but my daily commute from my business address is significantly different to the same end client.

Does the 24 month rule reset in these circumstances ?

Regards

I don't think so, but maybe you could follow in the footsteps of our MPs and simply claim for travel from the business address (which has stayed the same) to the new house. Although it'll have to be in a different area (i.e. county, region) right?

[console]

Thanks for the replys.

Final question from me on this then.

I make a claim for 24 months then my home office moves address, the end clinet remains the same but my daily commute from my business address is significantly different to the same end client.

Does the 24 month rule reset in these circumstances ?

Regards

[SlipTheJab]

In brief - No it can't and yes it does.

In a nutshell

[Fred Bloggs]

I have a question.

I have 2 limited companies A and B

I contract through A for 2 years claiming mileage then come to an end.

I then start to contract through B at the same location, can mileage be claimed ?

Does the 2 year rule apply, in essence what I am asking is does the rule apply to a person or to the business paying the expense?

regards

In brief - No it can't and yes it does.

[malvolio]

I have a question.

I have 2 limited companies A and B

I contract through A for 2 years claiming mileage then come to an end.

I then start to contract through B at the same location, can mileage be claimed ?

Does the 2 year rule apply, in esscesnce what I am asking is does the rule apply to a person or to the business paying the expense?

regards

To a person. It is all about BIKs...

[console]

I have a question.

I have 2 limited companies A and B

I contract through A for 2 years claiming mileage then come to an end.

I then start to contract through B at the same location, can mileage be claimed ?

Does the 2 year rule apply, in esscesnce what I am asking is does the rule apply to a person or to the business paying the expense?

regards

[eek]

You need to consider the 40% rule in a 2 year rolling window. Work back 2 years from now and do the math. If you have been there less than 40% of the time you can claim. That said the moment you know the 40% rule will apply to a particular place of work, the workplace will be considered permanent and you will no longer be able to claim travel and subsistence expenses. 8 months is very close to the 40% and you expect to be there for awhile so you are going to break it.

Didn't someone say 14 months or something similar before resetting the clock once?

I'd say no claiming allowed.

14.4 months assuming you were there full time is 60% so well over the limit. I think it was me who worked out it needs to be 14 months away to totally reset the clock (less if you had days from home).