24 months rule for expenses

[BrilloPad]

Perhaps a good rule of thumb would be that, if you have trouble expressing the question without implying that you know it's a con, then HMRC would likely see it the same way.

unless you are a millionaire - in which case its legal

[Euro-commuter]

Hi all,

Has anyone ever had confirmation from I.R. how much time must elapse after you have worked on a contract + extensions which takes you up to 24 months before you can go back to the same client and start the whole 24 months period again?

I'm thinking along the lines of not being able to claim accomm & travel expenses after the 24 months but if I say go on holiday for 2 weeks at the end of the 24 months then get a new contract with the same client would this be seen as dodgy??

I know you can only claim 'until the point you are aware your contract will go over 24 months'.

Hope you understand what I'm talking about & let me know if there has been a similar post regarding this or is there a way around this? I've searched - honest

Cheers,

RR.

Perhaps a good rule of thumb would be that, if you have trouble expressing the question without implying that you know it's a con, then HMRC would likely see it the same way.

[Bluebird]

someone told me that if you wanted to, you could set up another limited company and start the whole 2 year period again with your new ltd co.

Waddya reckon? - bulltulip or fact - I'm guessing the I.R. would not be happy about it...

RR.

no, because the expenses relate to you as an individual rather than your Ltd Co.

same rule applies if you change Agency as well, or in fact the Client changes but the site remains the same [ ie you work @ Halifax and they get taken over by Barclays - it's still the same site ].

The only thing you can get away with is if you're not on site full time, then the 24 months gets pro-rata'd out...

[richy_rich]

someone told me that if you wanted to, you could set up another limited company and start the whole 2 year period again with your new ltd co.

Waddya reckon? - bulltulip or fact - I'm guessing the I.R. would not be happy about it...

RR.

[Cooperinliverp00l]

I was told min of 6 months. I personally don't like to work anywhere more than 2 months unless it was 2 mins away from home. Joined contracting to get around and have the advantage of doing different things for different people. Same old Job Different Day is for Permie's.

Move on after your 2 years or don't claim expenses

[xoggoth]

They combine the 40% rule and the 2 year rule, so 60% not on site = 14.4 months.

[malvolio]

The word they use is "significant". A period working at a significantly different location for three months would probably do it. However, HMRC do not do precision, it's all vagueness and irrelevancies, so there is no hard and fast answer.

[richy_rich]

Hi all,

Has anyone ever had confirmation from I.R. how much time must elapse after you have worked on a contract + extensions which takes you up to 24 months before you can go back to the same client and start the whole 24 months period again?

I'm thinking along the lines of not being able to claim accomm & travel expenses after the 24 months but if I say go on holiday for 2 weeks at the end of the 24 months then get a new contract with the same client would this be seen as dodgy??

I know you can only claim 'until the point you are aware your contract will go over 24 months'.

Hope you understand what I'm talking about & let me know if there has been a similar post regarding this or is there a way around this? I've searched - honest

Cheers,

RR.