Remote contract - can i still claim for expenses on tax return?

Ali12

Hi All, 

I work for a company and within my contract it says i'm a "remote worker". i have no official office. yet the company i work for does have office(s) and occasionally they will ask me to attend an office about once every couple of months, which as its over 200 miles away. I tend to get a hotel for the night etc. 

I am lucky to be a higher tax earner, however these means for the tax year 2023-2024 I will have to complete a self assessment for the first time because I am claiming child benefit. I wont need to next year due to the change (yay Thanks MSE!) as i'm under the 60k threshold.

But the tax year that just ended 2023-2024, i'm not sure if i can claim for expenses? like the cost of the hotels, meals and car use (Mileage) to go to the office. I've kept all the details/receipts etc. just in case. if anyone can shed a bit of light that would be great! As potentially the amount that i have to pay back could be halved if i can claim expensive. 

Thanks.

Ali12

Sorry i should have mentioned that i'm not self employed, i'm employed full time at this company on PAYE.

Grumpy_chap

Ali12 said:

Hi All, 

I work for a company and within my contract it says i'm a "remote worker". i have no official office. yet the company i work for does have office(s) and occasionally they will ask me to attend an office about once every couple of months, which as its over 200 miles away. I tend to get a hotel for the night etc. 

I am lucky to be a higher tax earner, however these means for the tax year 2023-2024 I will have to complete a self assessment for the first time because I am claiming child benefit. I wont need to next year due to the change (yay Thanks MSE!) as i'm under the 60k threshold.

But the tax year that just ended 2023-2024, i'm not sure if i can claim for expenses? like the cost of the hotels, meals and car use (Mileage) to go to the office. I've kept all the details/receipts etc. just in case. if anyone can shed a bit of light that would be great! As potentially the amount that i have to pay back could be halved if i can claim expensive. 

Thanks.

Ali12 said:

Sorry i should have mentioned that i'm not self employed, i'm employed full time at this company on PAYE.

The first question here, possibly belatedly, is whether the employer reimburses the mileage and hotel plus subsistence for these occasional meetings at their offices?  
Would the employer have met the costs had reimbursement been requested?
Have you seen the expenses policy for the company?

Ali12

So I get a travel allowance, which isn't referenced in my contract and I don't have to show evidence of what I've spent its just paid automatically on top of my salary regardless if ive travelled or not and it is taxed. This is the reason I've ended up hitting over the 50k for last tax year. 

Grumpy_chap

So, you get paid your salary, all as per usual.
To make things simple, you then receive a travel allowance and this is also taxed.

When you complete your self assessment return, you can claim for expenses associated with work:
 - Mileage 45 pence per mile first 10k miles (25 pence thereafter)
 - Subsistence (actual cost as per receipt up to the HMRC limits https://www.travelperk.com/uk/guides/business-travel-expenses/subsistence-allowance/ )
 - Hotel (actual cost as per receipt)

For clarity, as it seems to be often misunderstood, the amount that is claimed back is the tax allowance only, not the full amount.  
So, if you do 100 miles at 45 pence per mile, that is a claim for income tax relief against £45.  That is at the appropriate marginal rate so the value (tax saved) is £9 for 20% tax rate payer, £18 for 40% tax rate payer.  (Both pro-rata if the tax relief brings salary below the 40% threshold.)

Bookworm105

On the face of it you probably do qualify for being able to claim travel costs to attend "the office", although there are some nuances which will be down to the actual details.

- your contract of employment does not stipulate "the office" as your place of employment. Without that you would have no chance of claiming
- you attend the office "every couple of months". On balance that probably does not break the rule relating to "regular pattern" and so would make "the office" a temporary workplace and thus support a travel claim 
EIM32070 - Travel expenses: travel for necessary attendance: definitions: permanent workplace: regular attendance - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The full rules, in gory detail, are across many pages:
EIM32065 - Travel expenses: travel for necessary attendance: definitions: permanent workplace - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

EIM32000 - Travel expenses: travel for necessary attendance: contents - HMRC internal manual - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Ali12

Thank you both for the info and the links. I think I maybe able to claim. I don't think I would call it regular attendance as between November and March I only visited the office once and in total for the whole tax year I only went 5 times. And in my contract there is no mention the office as my place of employment it just says remote contract.
Thanks your help all a bit scary when never done this and want to do right.