The most common forms of expense for which claims can be made include:
- Travel
- Food and accommodation
- Professional fees and subscriptions
- Clothing: uniform or specialist and safety equipment
- Repairing and replacing small tools
- Costs related to working from home in some restricted circumstances. See {separate page on working from home}
Unless an agreed standard allowance exists, records need to be kept of the actual costs incurred as HMRC may challenge a claim and ask for evidence.
Travel expenses
- The cost of travelling from home to your usual or permanent place of work is not an allowable expense.
- The cost of travel from home to a temporary workplace is an allowable expense
- Travel from your workplace to visit customers, clients or suppliers from a permanent or temporary workplace is allowable as an expense, but
- Travel from your home to visit customers, suppliers or clients may not always be an allowable expense. Read more here: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32005
It is important to determine whether a particular workplace is ‘temporary’ or ‘permanent’. HMRC guidance is that:
- The place at which an employee works is a permanent workplace if they attend it regularly for the performance of the duties of employment’, and,
- ‘A workplace is a temporary workplace if an employee goes there only to perform a task of limited duration or for a temporary purpose’.
If you regularly go to a particular workplace but expect to be based there for a short period (no more than 24 months) and then return to your permanent workplace, HMRC may accept that this can be a temporary workplace.
If you attend a “temporary” workplace continuously for more than 24 months then HMRC will consider that it has become a permanent workplace, and so travel to this location will no longer be an allowable expense.
If there is no permanent place of work, such as in the case of a travelling sales representative, the ‘area’ of work may be treated as the base, or ‘permanent workplace’.
Food and accommodation
If the employer does not reimburse subsistence and accommodation costs a claim can be made for costs that are incurred in the performance of the duties of the employment. Only the actual costs incurred by the employee for themselves can be claimed. HMRC are aware that most employers will reimburse employees travel costs and often impose per diem limits on costs. Claims that appear excessive are more likely to be challenged.
Professional fees and subscriptions
Only professional fees directly related to the employment may be claimed and the cost of subscriptions to certain professional organisations are also allowable if the organisation is approved by HMRC.
Clothing
Allowable costs relate to uniforms (a set of clothing that identifies you as having a certain occupation, and which is required by the employer) and specialist such as overalls and safety boots.
The cost of cleaning, replacing, or repairing a uniform or specialist clothing, for example safety boots is allowable and you may be able to claim a flat rate ‘allowance’ per year for the cost of washing your uniform or specialist clothing at home.
The initial cost of the clothing is not allowable, nor is the cost of cleaning, repairing or replacing everyday clothing used for work.
Repairing and replacing small tools
Where the use of tools owned by the employee is required for the job, the cost of repairing or replacing these tools is allowable.
Agreed standard allowances for employees
In many trades there are standard amounts agreed with HMRC to cover expenses for clothing or tools. These are called ‘flat rate’ deductions. Flat rate deductions avoid the need to keep receipts for expenses or make detailed claims.
You can find more on flat rate deductions on the HMRC website here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/job-expenses-for-uniforms-work-clothing-and-tools
