Expenses Guidelines
Travel
Expenses for travelling to a temporary workplace can be claimed by whatever method. If the journey is by public transport or taxi then a relevant receipt must be attached. In the event that your personal vehicle is used then your company will reimburse you in line with the HMRC Approved Mileage Rates, and you simply need to log the journey and enter your car engine size. To support your claim we would ask that you forward your VAT Fuel receipts at the end of each month. We do not require these receipts to make payment of your mileage.
Car Parking and Toll Charges incurred on company business can be claimed. Receipts must be provided to validate all parking costs. Toll receipts must be provided where possible.
Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation costs whether B&B, Hotel or Rented is allowable if necessary due to your temporary workplace. The cost of an evening meal is also allowable and we have agreed a nightly subsistence allowance to cover this type of expenditure. Receipts must be provided for accommodation and meals only if they exceed the amounts detailed in Expense Dispensations. However, we would always recommend that you retain all receipts relating to accommodation and meal costs.
24 Month Rule
Before your travel, subsistence and mileage claims will be approved; the place of work must meet the criteria of a temporary workplace. If you are travelling from home to your place of work, this is subject to the ‘24 month rule’. This states that travel from home to work is only allowable as a tax-deductible expense for as long as you believe your contract will not exceed 24 months. If you only work on a single assignment, without the expectation that there will be further assignments, your workplace will be regarded as permanent for these expense types and they will not be allowable against tax. Where you fall outside the ’24 month rule’, then travel between your home, or any other place that is not a workplace, is not allowable.
Expense Dispensations
We have an agreement with the Inland Revenue that our employees can submit certain expenses for an approved amount without providing receipts. These are detailed in points 1 - 4.
1. Day Subsistence
Where an individual is 5 miles or more from base office in Leigh, the following rates apply:
| Over 5 hours from base (but less than 10 hours) | £5.00 |
| Over 10 hours from base | £18.00 |
To establish which rate applies to you; combine your travelling time and hours worked daily.Complete your expenses claims form accordingly.
2. Night Subsistence (Hotel Accommodation & Meals)
When staying away from home and expenditure is incurred in the UK.The following rates apply:
| Bed & Breakfast | London | £100.00 |
| Bed & Breakfast | Elsewhere | £50.00 |
| Allowance for other meals | £18.00 |
Complete your expenses claim form as suits your circumstances. Receipts must be provided for accommodation and meals only if they exceed the amounts detailed above.
NB: If you are claiming the dispensation amount there is no need to provide receipts.However, if you are claiming a higher amount than our dispensation allows you must submit the corresponding receipt. If the accommodation is under a Tenancy Agreement, a copy of this agreement is required.
3. Overnight Subsistence (Staying with Friend or Relative)
When you are required to be away from home on business and stay with friends or relatives. Any such payment will be made in lieu of hotel accommodation & associated meal subsistence and not in addition to. The following rate applies:
| Staying with friend or relative | £25.00 |
Complete your expense claim form accordingly.
NB: When you are staying in temporary accommodation then you must return home on a regular basis.For assignments that are a considerable distance from your main residence and where returning home may be difficult we would still expect to see a return journey once a quarter as a minimum.
4. Travel
Business Mileage
Business miles incurred in private car up to the maximum rates, as supplied by the Inland Revenue each year.
| Up to 10,000 miles | £0.40 |
| Over 10,000 miles | £0.25 |
Complete your mileage log.We ensure the maximum rate per tax year is claimed.
Personal Incidental Expenses
Small out of pocket expenditure when staying away from home such as cleaning, daily newspapers and telephone calls home are allowable. No receipts are necessary and they must be claimed at the same time as claiming for accommodation. The rates differ depending upon whether your assignment is in the UK or overseas as follows:-
| UK Assignment | £5.00 per night |
| Overseas Assignment | £10.00 per night |
Safety Equipment, Tools, Training & Membership fees for Professional Institutions
Safety clothing:- Only specialist and / or safety clothing and equipment can be claimed upon the production of receipts.
Tools:- Hand tools for manual workers are allowable expenses that can be claimed upon the production of receipts.
Training:- Only certain types of training are tax deductible, this will be assessed on an individual basis. For training to qualify as tax deductible it has to be a necessity for you to continue your work for the company. If the training is to gain a new skill separate to the job currently being undertaken then it will be treated as progress to your career and not a necessity to continue the current job role. This is therefore not tax deductible. If the training is to simply update existing skills the expense may be allowable.
Membership fees for Professional Institutions:- Those that are necessary for you to gain and maintain your professional standing are allowable. e.g. to professional bodies, these again would need to be receipted. For a list of allowable professional subscriptions, please visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/list3.pdf
Telephone Calls
The cost of business calls on your private telecommunication system may be claimed, this includes mobiles and Internet access. Itemised invoices will be required, with the business calls appropriately identified. Where a separate telecommunication system is used exclusively for business purposes, then the full cost of this may be claimed.
Annual Dispensation Review
In order to keep our dispensations up to date we may require you to take part in our annual dispensation review. Once a year we select at random 10% of our payroll, we request that you support your expense claims for a 4 week period by producing your receipts. You will be notified well in advance if you are required to take part in the dispensation check.
Please note that these rules are in accordance with current HMRC guidelines. No responsibility is accepted for any resulting costs that arise due to disregard of the rules. Reimbursable business expenses must be submitted on a Black Diamond Umbrella expenses claim form.
Any expenditure which is not incurred in accordance with the company’s expense guidelines will not be refunded. Expense amounts must be wholly, exclusively and necessary for the performance of your duties.. Expenses over a certain amount may not necessarily be refunded.
If you have any questions on this please contact us
