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Travel Expenses For Directors
Tax deductible travel rules for owners and directors of companies
You can usually claim travel and incidental costs when you:
- Travel between different workplaces
- Go to work appointments
- Engage in other business-related activities
We'll explain incidental costs at the end of this post. Our initial focus will be on what qualifies as business travel.
You cannot claim tax relief for commuting costs, but there are two exceptions:
- 1.When you 'work' at a temporary workplace
- 2.When your home qualifies as a workplace
Don't try to game the system though - HMRC have extensive rules around permanent and temporary workplaces. We'll explain them in more detail next, but in most cases you'll intuitively know whether a workplace is permanent.
A 'permanent workplace' is where you:
- Spend at least at 40% of your working time
- You expect to work for at least 24 months
Any location where you spend all of your working time, even if it's less than 24 months - counts as a permanent workplace.
Conversely, a temporary workplace is where you work for short durations or for less than 24 months.
But as mentioned above, if you work at one location - even if it's for less than 24 months - then it counts as a permanent workplace.
Your home can qualify as a workplace if you:
- You conduct material fee-earning duties from home
- Your home is where the company’s registered office is based
If you only carry out basic admin at home, then it is unlikely to qualify as a workplace.
But if part of your contract has to be performed from home, such as providing out-of-hours support, then it might qualify.
And if home qualifies as a workplace then you may claim travel expenses between home and any another workplace - whether temporary or permanent.
Hotel costs, meals and drinks are all allowable business expenses when incurred during business travel.