Business trip flight expenses

[northernladuk]

The umbrellas should really get their heads together and push for the same treatment the big consultancies get, in many cases they are little different.

But in many more they are fundamentally completely different.

[CoolCat]

Don't mix up the difference between a consultancy allowing flights and them claiming the tax back on it. You can pay for anything you want. It's whether you can claim the relief on it which is the question.

I am not confusing anything.

Being handed a fully paid for flight if not a tax allowable expense should be declared as a benefit in kind by the employer. Big consultancies never do this in my experience. The reality is most contractors would be working for an umbrella or their own LTD and based for tax purposes at home in the UK or somewhere else in the UK, their business takes them abroad, and travel back to their home address is normal and not taxed even if you came back every single day. Whether you buy returns starting and ending in the UK, or some returns which start and end at the foreign location have nothing to do with it (I regularly do that as I would do UK Airport A -> foreign location X then foreign location X -> UK location B then UK location B to foreign location X then foreign location X to UK Airport A, its cheaper to do the middle journeys as a return from the foreign location like this if you want or need to fly back to a different UK airport some weekends).

Indeed as a contractor I have often had flights paid for by the end customer, and not even going through the books of my umbrella, or LTD, or my expense claims. Many big corporates do this for their contractors, again if there was any tax due they should be following a whole set of other rules which they don't.

The umbrellas should really get their heads together and push for the same treatment the big consultancies get, in many cases they are little different.

[northernladuk]

I doubt you are correct. If you are then every major consultancy in the country is breaking the tax rules. The tax man is probably confused, and misguided.

Don't mix up the difference between a consultancy allowing flights and them claiming the tax back on it. You can pay for anything you want. It's whether you can claim the relief on it which is the question.

[TheFaQQer]

I doubt you are correct. If you are then every major consultancy in the country is breaking the tax rules. The tax man is probably confused, and misguided.

If the employer says "you can't claim this as an expense" then isn't that the end of the argument?

Or at least it is until the OP completes their self assessment and argues it at that stage with HMRC.

[WTFH]

I doubt you are correct. If you are then every major consultancy in the country is breaking the tax rules. The tax man is probably confused, and misguided.

Um, nope.


The contract is abroad. That means the flights for Christmas are NOT business, but actually a holiday.
While the OP considers them "business flights", the contract says otherwise.


If the OP was flying home every weekend, then they might be able to argue that they were still based in the UK, but they aren't.

If HMRC considered them business flights, then all holidays while contracting could be written off as business expenses as long as you flew from an airport in the same country as your client.

[CoolCat]

I know it seems odd but this is the way that HMRC think about things - it is a grey area and you could certainly double check with HMRC but, based on my 12 years experience I don't think they'd consider a trip home for Xmas as business expense

I doubt you are correct. If you are then every major consultancy in the country is breaking the tax rules. The tax man is probably confused, and misguided.

[Dylan]

On that basis no homeward travel would be allowed.

Gig in London - business travel to get there but the business gains no benefit from you going home at the end of the day, return trip not wholly and exclusively for business?

The client won't pay for hotels over the period so the choice for the business if pay for flight home or pay for hotel?

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

I know it seems odd but this is the way that HMRC think about things - it is a grey area and you could certainly double check with HMRC but, based on my 12 years experience I don't think they'd consider a trip home for Xmas as business expense

[Minklet]

This is a difficult one but, basically, your trip home would not be considered wholly and exclusively incurred as a result of the contract; whilst we can all appreciate that you want to spend Christmas with your family, the only reason that you are making the trip is to visit them - the cost of the journey is not being incurred because business is sending you back to the UK. If the company were to send you back for a couple of weeks to do some work in their UK office and, in that time you paid your family a visit, the expense would be allowable because there was a business reason for the cost being incurred.

Surely however, this is the wrong way of thinking about it? I don't live in this country, I live in the UK. So if I was working Monday - Friday abroad and then flying home on the weekend every week, would that not be a business expense? BTW, the office is closed for the festive period. And whilst i am seeing my family, I am in fact just going home, it's just that they happen to also be there.

What if the first return flight that the company paid for was from outbound December 1st, and inbound 21st. Then I bought a return from outbound 1st January, inbound February...would that be a business expense. I might be able to arrange that instead.

It just seems a bit absurd tbh, if I was heading home from Edinburgh it would be an expense I think?

[TheFaQQer]

When you work for a company, you're bound by their expense policy.

Ask your employer if they will reconsider.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

This is a difficult one but, basically, your trip home would not be considered wholly and exclusively incurred as a result of the contract; whilst we can all appreciate that you want to spend Christmas with your family, the only reason that you are making the trip is to visit them - the cost of the journey is not being incurred because business is sending you back to the UK. If the company were to send you back for a couple of weeks to do some work in their UK office and, in that time you paid your family a visit, the expense would be allowable because there was a business reason for the cost being incurred.

[Minklet]

I am due to fly abroad for a 3 month business trip as a consultant, on invitation. I have the visas and accommodation and flights sorted. The agreement I have in place is that the client is providing my accommodation and the initial flight out there, and the final return. Everything else I would have to pay for of course.

With Christmas coming up I am obviously looking to come back home for Christmas to see my family whilst the office is closed for the festive period. I would expect that this would be an allowable expense, the return flight to London, but I am being told that it is not.

Can anyone explain to me why this would be the case when HMRC clearly states that it is allowable, as the expense is wholly and exclusively incurred for business purposes, I should be perfectly entitled to claim travel costs between my home and a temporary place of business.

I see these as being relevant
Travelling expenses: employees working abroad: expenses that may be deducted: example
Foreign travel rules: duties performed partly abroad: employee's journeys from and to the United Kingdom

And (not the Umbrella Company I use)
Contractor expenses