Travel for work is usually necessary to be able to earn a living and get the work done.

In this blog post, I will be writing about when to claim travel expenses when employed.

When to claim travel expenses when employed.

If your work involves a lot of travel, most times your employer will pay for the travel, accommodation, or subsistence etc.

This is mainly because it is an expense that is related to business.

Tax issue that you should be aware of when you travel for work:

• When travel is not wholly and exclusively for work.
• The amount paid to the employer is lower or above the allowed amounts.
• An employee claiming travel expenses from home to work.
• When you travel to a temporary workplace.

When the travel is not wholly and exclusively for work:

When travel expenses are claimed, it must be a journey that was done exclusively for business.

So, for example, you are not allowed to claim travel expenses to a destination that also served as a holiday destination for you.

When the employer reimburses more or above the allowed cost

The revenue has a set amount that should be reimbursed as a necessary cost for travel.

For example, the mileage rate for the first 10,000 miles is at 45p and 25p on additional miles.

When the employer pays more than this rate, they will have to report the cost to HMRC.

They will report this by using the P11D form.

When this happens there will be a tax consequence for both employer and employee.

The employee will pay tax on the excess amount whilst the employer will pay national insurance.

 

An employee claiming travel expenses from home to work.

The revenue specifically disallows claiming of travel expenses from home to work.

So, what happens when employees must travel to clients first thing in the morning.

They must first resume in the office thereafter start claiming for the travel mileage from workplace to clients’ place.

 

When you travel to a temporary workplace from home.

At times you could be seconded to a temporary place to work on behalf of your business.

When this happens, you can claim for travel from your home to the temporary place.

The tax law defines the temporary place of business has somewhere where you would be working for less than 2 years.

How do you claim for travel expenses from HMRC?

If you are employed and have travelled for work, you can claim this cost from HMRC when your employer has not reimbursed you wholly or partly.

You can claim for travel expenses for the last 4 tax years before the current tax year.

If the amount that you would like to claim is more than 2000 per tax year, you will have to claim through the self-assessment.

If the travel expense is less than 2000 for each tax year, you can claim here.

You must also keep the records of your travel and other proof of the expenses that you wish to claim.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading my blog,

I hope it has enlightened you on claiming travel expenses from the revenue.

If you would like me to support you with this claim, kindly contact me.