Re-claiming travel costs (newbie)

[gingerjedi]

Thanks for the help.

[Nixon Williams]

I'm in a similar situation but I have been on the same site for almost 2 years (with several breaks) and I am about to swap from an umbrella to limited so how would that work? Do I just not claim travel expenses and everything else is ok or can I not claim anything at all?

The rules are a bit crap to be honest as I did not intend or expect to stay so long it just worked out that way.

Also if I find myself on the bench for any period of time will an accountant still need paying regardless?

The rules relate to travel and accommodation etc, ie costs to get you to the site. You can still claim for mobiles, internet, laptops etc.

We charge a reduced fee if a client is not working (provided that they tell us!) so ask your accountant and see what response you get!

Alan

[oraclesmith]

I'm in a similar situation but I have been on the same site for almost 2 years (with several breaks) and I am about to swap from an umbrella to limited so how would that work? Do I just not claim travel expenses and everything else is ok or can I not claim anything at all?

If you carry on with the contract then you limit what expenses you can claim because the clients workplace becomes effectively your normal place of work. A limited company can have all sorts of overheads such as equipment, office space, website costs, etc but they generally only pay expenses to officers/employees who work away from the office on a temporary basis. Look at it from your companies point of view - is it normal to pay an employee their train fare to commute to and from the office ? No. But it would be normal to pay an employee to travel to a client site to carry out some limited-scope task ? Yes of course it would.

Also if I find myself on the bench for any period of time will an accountant still need paying regardless?

Normally yes. The per month payment is usually just an easy way of paying the £1k or so per annum it costs to do annual accounts, returns etc.

[gingerjedi]

I'm in a similar situation but I have been on the same site for almost 2 years (with several breaks) and I am about to swap from an umbrella to limited so how would that work? Do I just not claim travel expenses and everything else is ok or can I not claim anything at all?

The rules are a bit crap to be honest as I did not intend or expect to stay so long it just worked out that way.

Also if I find myself on the bench for any period of time will an accountant still need paying regardless?

[Toasted Giant]

Thanks fellas, much appreciated.

[dmini]

All this HAS been explained earlier but -
If you have a contract, running normal ie ful time- as SOON as you know you will be working there over 24 months you lose the expenses. eg you get offered a 3-year contract (ha ha), from day 1
If you are working only part time - 40%=2 days / week - so less than 2 days a week on site, continuously - there are some wierd calculations that can stretch for periods over 24 months at this point - check hmrc out for more info, then you can continue to claim.
So, for example - a one day a week contract for 5 years would still be ok

Hope that helps

[Sockpuppet]

I thought the 40% rule only applied after the 2 years. So if you spent less than 40% of your time there you could claim expenses for as long as you liked.

[mictech]

As far as I was aware the 24 month rule on temporary location was that, if you spend more that 40% of your time in a one square mile location within a 24 month period (9 months), you fall foul.
Your 1 year would fall foul at the outset, unless it was 3 month at a time, and you would fall foul in the last 3 months only.
Please correct me if I am wrong, because I am going to get caught on my next extension to my contract.

[Sockpuppet]

I do Narbourough to London a few times. Free parking as well. Its by the M69/M1 junction so depending what part of the west country you mean it could be only down the M6.

[Toasted Giant]

Ah right, to be honest I'm hoping to find something closer to home before the 12 months is out anyway. I'm registering my home address as my place of business so I guess I can go ahead and get some of the (extortionate) fare back.

Cheers guys - on a related point, i'm just wondering whether I'd be better off driving to an outlying tube/train staion and going in from there - as I will be on flexi time I can avoid rush hour. Does anyone else on here commute from the West Country into London, and if so, what's the best way in?

Cheers again!

[Sockpuppet]

Also it will only be corp tax @ 19% afaik there is no VAT on train and bus tickets.

[Nixon Williams]

Tax relief is available for travelling/accommodation expenses, which involve two types of journey:

•Journeys which you have to make in the performance of their duties; and
•Journeys, which you make to or from a place they have to attend in the performance of their duties – but not journeys which, are ordinary commuting or private travel.

Relief is available for travel between home and a temporary workplace.

A temporary workplace is where you go there to perform a task of limited duration or for a temporary purpose.

Whether you can treat their workplace as temporary depends upon how long you are based at one particular site or expect to spend at one site, the amount of time spent at a workplace is also considered.

In most cases a temporary workplace will be one that you do not NOR expect to be at the site for more than 24 months.

I guess your accountant may be referring to the special circumstances that may affect any claims eg.

•If you are only based at one site whilst working through your company and then you close the company.
•If you work at more than one site on the same contract
•If you generally work at various sites within a defined location (eg City of London)

You should be alright initially, it depends where you work next!

Alan

[Toasted Giant]

Hi guys, I'm sure the answer has already been posted elsewhere but I have been unable to find it. Having just made the jump from the Army, I have been offered a position in London as a contractor. Following the excellent advice on here I plan to register myself as a ltd company.

However, after chatting with the accountant this morning, she suggested that I may have difficulty claiming back any tax on my train fare from Chippenham to London as I would essentially be working in the same place every day, and thus be incurring a personal rather than a business expense.

It's a 12 month contract for the government. Any advice appreciated.