Travel Expenses - Tax Relief

buffness

Hi All
Please can someone help me with this query regarding tax relief on travel expenses.

On 03 January 2020, I started a new job on a permanent contract where the office is in London. I live in Manchester.

Pre Lockdown, Me and my Line Manager agreed that I should be in the London office 2 days per week - on some weeks, I don’t need to be there - it is up to me to choose. The other days I work from home.
I have to fund the cost of both my train ticket and the hotel.
My question is - can I claim tax relief on both my train ticket and hotel? I’ve looked at the 24 month rule on HMRC and I am confused. Now that we are on ‘lockdown’, my line manager has said that I can now work 5 days a week from home until the end of the year. 

The 40% rule - I’ve calculated this using the following:

261 working days in 12 months x 2 = 522 working days in a year.
8 days in a month travel to the London office x 12 = 96 days in one year x 2 = 192 days in two years.
192 / 522 * 100 = 37%

Based on the above, I’m just under the 40%.  

Can I claim the tax relief on the train tickets and hotel costs incurred from Jan 2020? 

sliphi

buffness said:

Hi All
Please can someone help me with this query regarding tax relief on travel expenses.

On 03 January 2020, I started a new job on a permanent contract where the office is in London. I live in Manchester.

Pre Lockdown, Me and my Line Manager agreed that I should be in the London office 2 days per week - on some weeks, I don’t need to be there - it is up to me to choose. The other days I work from home.
I have to fund the cost of both my train ticket and the hotel.
My question is - can I claim tax relief on both my train ticket and hotel? I’ve looked at the 24 month rule on HMRC and I am confused. Now that we are on ‘lockdown’, my line manager has said that I can now work 5 days a week from home until the end of the year. 

The 40% rule - I’ve calculated this using the following:

261 working days in 12 months x 2 = 522 working days in a year.
8 days in a month travel to the London office x 12 = 96 days in one year x 2 = 192 days in two years.
192 / 522 * 100 = 37%

Based on the above, I’m just under the 40%.  

Can I claim the tax relief on the train tickets and hotel costs incurred from Jan 2020? 

If you are an employee, then your employer should be funding any necessary and reasonable expenses you incur in doing that job.

If your employer is not prepared to fund those expenses, then presumably they don't consider them to be necessary and reasonable to do your job.

So don't incur them.

You go to work to earn money, not as an opportunity to spend your money supporting your employer's business.

TheCyclingProgrammer

As employee you can only claim tax relief on the cost of business travel or travelling to a temporary workplace. 

The 24 month/40% rules apply to temporary workplaces however I would argue that your employer’s offices are not a temporary workplace - they are a fixed location that you attend in the course of permanent employment. This would make them a permanent workplace. Your home could also be considered a permanent workplace - you can have more than one. 

On this basis I would say travel to the office is ordinary commuting and no tax relief is deductible. 

If you have to work from home three days a week (rather than choosing to) you may be able to claim some tax relief on the additional costs of working from home although this will not generally be much (and it’s normally easiest to claim the fixed weekly rate which was £4/week and went up to £6 in the current tax year). 

sliphi

TheCyclingProgrammer said:

As employee you can only claim tax relief on the cost of business travel or travelling to a temporary workplace. 

The 24 month/40% rules apply to temporary workplaces however I would argue that your employer’s offices are not a temporary workplace - they are a fixed location that you attend in the course of permanent employment. This would make them a permanent workplace. Your home could also be considered a permanent workplace - you can have more than one. 

On this basis I would say travel to the office is ordinary commuting and no tax relief is deductible. 

If you have to work from home three days a week (rather than choosing to) you may be able to claim some tax relief on the additional costs of working from home although this will not generally be much (and it’s normally easiest to claim the fixed weekly rate which was £4/week and went up to £6 in the current tax year). 

I agree. Commuting is not tax deductable.
When I first read this thread, I had assumed that the OP, living in Manchester had taken a job that was based in Manchester , but also had another office in London.
Having read your reply, and re-read the OP, it simply seems that the OP lives in Manchester and took a job in London.

However, I'm not sure the OP is required to work from home, but is choosing to (with approval of their employer) presumably to avoid their high commuting costs.
As the OP admits " it is up to me to choose" as to whether or not to attend the office.

Pennywise

A workplace you attend regularly or with a pattern isn't a "temporary workplace" - it's a permanent workplace and no claims for tax relief are possible.
You'd need to be randomly attending different workplaces for them to become "temporary".  Any element of "habit" or regularity and the claim is invalid.

buffness

Thanks all - makes complete sense.