Claiming travel costs

MrBananas

Is it possible to deduct travel costs to my office from my tax return?

I’m a full time employee, paying tax under PAYE but have to fill out a self assessment form each year. For the last year I have worked from home full time but I travel to the office between 1 and 4 times per month (at an approximate cost of £60/trip).

agrinnall

It depends, where is your place of work in your contract of employment? I work from home but my place of work is still at the office, so when I travel there I have to pay for it myself (which is why I go as little as possible, given that it's 500 miles away). If your contract was changed to make your home your place of work then you may be able to claim.

MrBananas

It’s the office. My WFH arrangement is unofficial, as if I make it official then the office will do a cost-of-living adjustment and reduce my pay as I won’t be in London any more.

TheCyclingProgrammer

No you can’t as it’s considered ordinary commuting.

Berkshire_Beancounter

As TheCyclingProgrammer said, home to office mileage is not tax deductible: the official .gov website says:

"You may be able to claim tax relief if you use cars, vans, motorcycles or bicycles for work.

This does not include travelling to and from your work, unless it’s a temporary place of work."

The forum won't let me post the actual link but the website is gov.uk, section tax-relief-for-employees and sub-section vehicles-you-use-for-work.

MrBananas

What qualifies as a temporary place of work? e.g. If I go to a company office which is not my normal office?

00ec25

MrBananas wrote: »

What qualifies as a temporary place of work? e.g. If I go to a company office which is not my normal office?

the fact that your company has not made your home your contracted place of employment overrides all other considerations

you cannot claim ordinary commuting

you cannot claim that the office is a temporary workplace when it is not, it is your permanent place of employment, from which you have voluntarily chosen to work from and your company accepts that, but did not impose that you must work from home. The decision was a matter of your own choosing.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32374

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim10030

you therefore have, in technical terms, 2 places of employment, your home and your office. Travel between both is ordinary commuting.

MrBananas

Let me rephrase. My company has two offices in a London. I am employed at, and usually travel to the East London office. If I travel to the West London office for the day (I do this approx once every eight weeks) can I claim that?

00ec25

then let me reiterate:
does your company require you to travel to the West London office in order to undertake the duties of your employment, ie. performing a discrete piece of work which can only be done by your physical presence at the WEST London office.

sounds more like to me you are just trying to find excuses for getting your journey to work paid by the taxpayer, not yourself because you choose where to go to, and it now seems you have 3 choices: home, East or West London.

MrBananas

The company requires me to go there, although I am contractually supposed to be in the East London office so for the typical employee it’s a 15 minute walking distance, I live approx 100 miles from either but I would be working from home if I were not going specifically to the West London office for client meetings.

agrinnall

How much of your jurney to West London would be the same as your journey to East London? If there's a big overlap (which I suspect there may be) then I'd suggest that the tax man might well either see them as the same destination, so ineligible to claim, or only the part of the jurney that's different could be claimd (for example, tube fare from mainline station to West London).


To be honest, I think you are clutching at straws.