Contracting question: Can I claim hotel and dinner expense for 6 month contract?

Kokolot · 4 January 2018 at 11:56PM

Hello all,

I am new to contracting so seek advice from experienced contractors here or accountants who can advice.

I have a 6 month work contract:

> The work location is 85 miles away from my home
>The commute can take 2hrs to 2 and half hours each way so 4-5hrs in total each day
>My work day is usual 9am-5.30pm
>Work from home once a week

Doing this type of long commute may be bad for my health so I was thinking, is it possible to claim hotel expense to stay near the work location every week until my contract ends and claim the hotel + dinner as an expense?

> I will make lunch at home.
> The hotel will cost no more than probably £75 a night

>I will be working through my own LTD company
>My contract is Outside IR35.

Can anyone please advice?

Of course I will ask my accountant but wish to ask other experienced here as well.

MataNui · 5 January 2018 at 9:32AM

Yes. That would be a pretty average situation for a contractor. Its what i used to do for years. You might want to try to reduce the cost a bit though. After all its actually all your money in the end. You may be able to get a contractor rate (can work out cheaper) or what i used to do was book a couple of weeks in advance by trawling for the best rates (i did tend to stick with the one hotel though). Got some really good deals some weeks (particularly around Christmas).

#Edit# You can also claim mileage so dont forget that. It can make a big difference.

trailingspouse · 5 January 2018 at 9:35AM

Can you claim for the cost of a hotel/subsistence/mileage from your client? You would have to ask them - no-one on here will be able to answer that question. It's common practice (certainly in the industry we work in) for the client to pay for airfares/hotels when the contract is outside the UK, less common to pay that sort of thing within the UK. You need to make sure that your daily rate is sufficient to cover these costs.

Can you claim for the cost of a hotel/subsistence/mileage tax free from your own limited company? Yes you can - keep all your receipts and put them through your books as business expenses. And you should contact the reservations team at your hotel and ask if they have a corporate rate that they can offer you. It's sometimes worth mentioning who you are working for, as the hotel is likely to give you the same corporate rate as they offer your client.

bugslet · 5 January 2018 at 10:09AM

When my OH worked away, he rented a room from someone working on the same site as him, which back in 2000, cost around £70.00 a week.

mondaytofriday.com offer rooms to let on a weekday only basis, might be worth a look.

Kokolot · 5 January 2018 at 11:10AM

Hello all,

Thank you for your replies.

I cannot get the customer to pay for this, I asked.

Would this be OK to do every week until my contract ends?

There is a local Travelodge which averages around £60 a day inc breakfast.

getmore4less · 5 January 2018 at 11:50AM

Bottom line with a daily rate is what you spend is your money so you decide what level you want.

Shopping around booking in advance and negotiating can all cut costs.
you decide on travel days and over nights as needed.

broaden the search to those very local to work, there may be some places that offer better value/facilities/location.

Join the loyalty schemes you can soon rack up benefits and get offers.

Also consider your evenings it can get very tedious being in hotels if you can't work late to use up time and get in late/off early on travel days

A place near things so you can go out does wonders for moral.

When I contracted I found a mix of Wetherspoons(or similar) for day to day sustenance was fine with the occasional better meal thrown in, I was away 5-7 days most of the time.

As you have a work from home day can you pick the day?
some prefer a split week overnight Mon,Thurs(work from home Wed), some prefer the longer weekend eg. being home Friday evening rather than travelling.

easy · 5 January 2018 at 11:56AM

You can claim hotel and meal expenses for working away at a single location for up to 24 months with no problems at all. After 24 months HMRC could argue that the location has become your regular place of work,

TELLIT01 · 5 January 2018 at 12:02PM

The rate quoted to the customer should have either included all your expenses, or the contract should have stated that accommodation and food costs would be added. As the OP doesn't appear to have done either of these it's likely to be an expensive lesson in the price of being self-employed.

Kokolot · 5 January 2018 at 12:29PM

Hi,

I work from home on Fridays.

My daily rate is £400.

Yes this is my first contracting experience and I realise I might make mistakes but this is why I ask and wish to learn.

I suppose with my daily rate and the fact that I will not be on this contract longer than 24 months means I can stay in a hotel, claim meal expenses, and mileage?

PasturesNew · 5 January 2018 at 12:38PM

I did it for 6 months, but I wasn't spending that much on a hotel. I used small/private hotels and B&Bs - the sort of places with 1970s wallpaper, avocado shower suites and no bedside lamp/coffee making

But they were about £20/night.

It's OK to claim, but if the sum of your expenses claim and other contracting costs reduces your salary below NMW then you will be paid NMW first and then "the balance" in expenses.

unforeseen · 5 January 2018 at 1:28PM

NMW doesn't apply where the employee is a director

Contracting question: Can I claim hotel and dinner expense for 6 month contract?

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