Tax refund for long distance commuters

yewols

Hi! Im longhaul cabin crew at the moment working out of London, only problem is Im using more than 2/3rds of my bring home income on accomodation (yes this is crazy and no Im not living anywhere extravagant its just the wage and circumstances so please anyone who offers advice of just move in the area its been considered but not possible so I thank you in advance!) I do have an option of returning north and moving back in with parents and commuting as I only have to 'go into work' 4 -6 times a month which a) helps me out as less rent and b) my parents really could do with extra cash! I would have 2 options to commute and these are my questions-

1) drive down - could I get any tax back from my petrol costs? I would say its about a 450mile round trip 4-6times a month. So at the moment it would be about £200-£300 a month just on fuel.

2) fly down - as an airline employee its no secret that we get industry tickets but the problem with that is we pay about £50 fuel/aiport tax on each ticket (an amount which is creeping up all the time!) is there a way of reclaming any amount of tax on these?

Any CONSTRUCTIVE advice is greatly appreciated as I live on the bare minumum and still have higher outgoings than incomings which is finally taking its toll financially and emotionally! (I'm also looking for part time work but that too is proofing quite a challange!)

Thank Peoples!

Errata

I guess the answer is the government has no responsibility to underwrite the costs of where someone chooses to live and work.

yewols

Just hoping there's a lilttle loophole somewhere!

Cook_County

Surely the fact that you get cash-in-hand dollar bonuses helps a little? You mentioned them here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=17582333#post17582333