Expenses and tax
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Soldato
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IIRC as self-employed you claim your travel expenses against tax. Sounds like your employers are going to reimburse you so you don't have to worry about it as your wage and expenses actually stay the same.
I'm sure someone else will offer better/more accurate advice or correct me if I'm wrong though.
I'm sure someone else will offer better/more accurate advice or correct me if I'm wrong though.
Simple answer is it depends.
You only qualify for relief for the extra cost over and above your normal commute. So if you need say a Zone 1-2 to get to your normal place of work and then you need a 1-6 to go visit clients then you can claim relief on the difference between the cost of the two.
If you don't need a travel card for normal commuting then it might get a bit more complicated:
You only qualify for relief for the extra cost over and above your normal commute. So if you need say a Zone 1-2 to get to your normal place of work and then you need a 1-6 to go visit clients then you can claim relief on the difference between the cost of the two.
If you don't need a travel card for normal commuting then it might get a bit more complicated:
why would it get more complicated?
you're just expected to use the most sensible option, i.e. if it's cheaper to get a travel card than pay for the individual trips then that's what you should do, and if you don't you'll only be able to claim back the cost of the travel card.
you're just expected to use the most sensible option, i.e. if it's cheaper to get a travel card than pay for the individual trips then that's what you should do, and if you don't you'll only be able to claim back the cost of the travel card.
I said it might be a bit more because you've possibly got to start adding up the cost of trips to see if they are more than the cost of a weekly travelcard. Which is more complicated than just saying 'yeah its a business expense'
it's still a claimable expense either way, but you can only claim the lesser of those two figures, which one you actually use is irrelevant, and I'd imagine the onus is on you to submit the correct figure for your expense, I'd have thought it highly unlikely it would ever get picked up on if you just submit the one you paid with the ticket(s) though.
Man of Honour
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No you should get the full amount back of your expense. Though it depends on your works expenses policy (i.e. substract the journey cost/distance to your regular office for example). Just be sure to split the cost of the tax on your expenses sheet, else the payroll admin clerk sends you snotty emails...
For example I get paid all public transport travel I do, all hotels (including dinner/breakfast if staying away), I have a company car though so it might affect public transport expenses. However my nearest office is an 8 mile return trip, so for any distance above 8 miles I have to substract that distance from it. For example if I was going to a site 40 miles away, I'd only be able to claim 32 miles.
Soldato
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I get all expenses paid back tax free - from hotel to travel cards to food to crack, there is a line on my payslip to that end too.
Soldato
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Reimbursable business expenses aren't subject to tax. So if you have to buy the travel card to get to your clients and then claim it back through your employer you will get the full value back. It's usually dealt with outside of your normal payroll payment.
Soldato
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Here is what will happen
If you travel card cost £12, you file an expense for £12 you get £12 back, it is not taxed
as it it done outside of normal payroll.
If you travel card cost £12, you file an expense for £12 you get £12 back, it is not taxed
as it it done outside of normal payroll.
Permabanned
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You can claim nearly everything to do with work as an expense and not pay tax on it. I want to do this.
Good for you!
Soldato
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not really, good luck trying to claim it back as expenses must be "wholly, exclusively and necessarily" incurred for the job
Something I had when temping (contracting) as a cadmonkey. Gov decided you are entitled to food and travel expenses as you are not a salaried employee; use umbrella accountancy firm to deduct expenses for the week (food and fuel) from your wage, pay tax on subsequent figure, have expenses added back minus a smallish fee for the accountants. Result is about 200 quid extra a month.
All of this is un-receipted - food allowance was £6 per day and fuel was 40ppm up to 10k miles a year. (I think there was an allowance for public transport also, but I never looked into that at the time)
So, that's about 120 quid a month in food allowance, added to about 25 quid of fuel every week. I'd work out the mileage and food and submit the expenses every friday.
I thought it was some sort of scam when my agency offered it... turns out I'd been missing out on topping up my earnings for ages, all according to government rules for contracted/temporary workers. They define a temporary contract as one that does not exceed 24 months continuous duration.
I always wondered why some of the contracts managers and contracted engineers at my last fulltime job were always going on about expenses.
Iirc you could claim these expenses if you were self employed or in partnership as a contractor through an agency or direct with a firm. All you had to do was have both parties confirm the status of your employment to the accountancy people and away you go.
I still think it sounds like a fiddle, but that's just me.
All of this is un-receipted - food allowance was £6 per day and fuel was 40ppm up to 10k miles a year. (I think there was an allowance for public transport also, but I never looked into that at the time)
So, that's about 120 quid a month in food allowance, added to about 25 quid of fuel every week. I'd work out the mileage and food and submit the expenses every friday.
I thought it was some sort of scam when my agency offered it... turns out I'd been missing out on topping up my earnings for ages, all according to government rules for contracted/temporary workers. They define a temporary contract as one that does not exceed 24 months continuous duration.
I always wondered why some of the contracts managers and contracted engineers at my last fulltime job were always going on about expenses.
Iirc you could claim these expenses if you were self employed or in partnership as a contractor through an agency or direct with a firm. All you had to do was have both parties confirm the status of your employment to the accountancy people and away you go.
I still think it sounds like a fiddle, but that's just me.