Mileage - Working From Home

[AliceGB]

We have a small group of employees that sometimes work from home (less than 40% of their working week), it not a job requirement, they are able to and are encouraged to work at their permanent place of work full time, but since Covid there is some flexibility.

Their job requires them to travel to various temporary places of work on a regular weekly basis.

On the days where they work from home and travel to a temporary workplace, we ask them to deduct their ordinary commute if they are travelling in a similar direction.

This process has worked for most employees. However recently this small group of employees have needed to go to various temporary places of work throughout the day and have a driving pattern of:

Home to Temporary workplace A
Temporary workplace A to home
Home to Temporary workplace B
Temporary workplace B to home
Home to Temporary workplace C
Temporary workplace C to home

Section 3.39 in the HMRC Ordinary Commuting and Private Travel guidance says 'Tax relief will of course be allowed for the costs incurred on travelling between the employee’s home and a temporary workplace' so we want to know if we continue to deduct the commute from the original journey unless its significantly different, but allow for all other journeys to and from home that day to be claimed? Or should all journeys be claimed for?

 

[Frank the Insurance guy]

I've never know for the "usual commute" to be taken off, whether they were travelling in a similar director or not.

I'm sure that as long as they are not travelling to/from their usual place of work, they can claim the full amount without deduction, even if its in a similar direction.

No doubt one of our experienced accountants will be along and let me know if the above is wrong.

 

[Bobbo]

I've never know for the "usual commute" to be taken off, whether they were travelling in a similar director or not.

I'm sure that as long as they are not travelling to/from their usual place of work, they can claim the full amount without deduction, even if its in a similar direction.

No doubt one of our experienced accountants will be along and let me know if the above is wrong.

In terms of Mileage Allowance Payments, the employer can pay the full amount without deduction. However, you can understand the business' logic in not wanting to pay the full amount if the majority of that trip the employee would have made anyway to get from home to their usual place of work.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

you can understand the business' logic

I can't!

This is a cost to the business and therefore reduces their profit and tax paid!

 

[Newchodge]

We have a small group of employees that sometimes work from home (less than 40% of their working week), it not a job requirement, they are able to and are encouraged to work at their permanent place of work full time, but since Covid there is some flexibility.

Their job requires them to travel to various temporary places of work on a regular weekly basis.

On the days where they work from home and travel to a temporary workplace, we ask them to deduct their ordinary commute if they are travelling in a similar direction.

This process has worked for most employees. However recently this small group of employees have needed to go to various temporary places of work throughout the day and have a driving pattern of:

Home to Temporary workplace A
Temporary workplace A to home
Home to Temporary workplace B
Temporary workplace B to home
Home to Temporary workplace C
Temporary workplace C to home

Section 3.39 in the HMRC Ordinary Commuting and Private Travel guidance says 'Tax relief will of course be allowed for the costs incurred on travelling between the employee’s home and a temporary workplace' so we want to know if we continue to deduct the commute from the original journey unless its significantly different, but allow for all other journeys to and from home that day to be claimed? Or should all journeys be claimed for?

Every employer I have worked for knocked off the normal commute from first and last daily travel to temporary workplaces. I thought HMRC required it, although I haven't checked the rules.

 

[AliceGB]

Every employer I have worked for knocked off the normal commute from first and last daily travel to temporary workplaces. I thought HMRC required it, although I haven't checked the rules.

Thank you for your response (and everyone else)

We have previously used the following gov site: EIM32300 - Travel expenses: travel for necessary attendance, safeguards against abuse: journeys treated as ordinary commuting.

This is where we have said that if the journey taken between home and temporary place of work is similar to the journey between home and permanent place of work we will not accept it.

But now we have staff (as noted in my original message) are starting from home to temporary place of work, back again, out again, back again...

 

[IanSuth]

Just had to do my daughters expenses claim for her for Physio placement so am now au fait with NHS guidelines for this.

For her she could only claim mileage from her Uni accommodation to the placement not from home or from my mothers where she actually was, although she could claim the train fair (on non strike days) from my mothers to her placement (she was staying there as a much easier public transport commute). This was because mileage is from "usual place of work" and that is the uni, train tickets were on a "recouped outlay" basis. Interestingly there was no mention of routes to avoid tolls, but it does allow ULEZ recompense so theoretically if you drive a non ULEZ compliant vehicle you should still use the shortest route and claim back the £12.50 if you incur it (bonkers)

And from that I know UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NOTED IN CONTRACT work from home does not change you "normal place of work" which is where all travel claims have to be based from for HMRC purposes.

So if your workers have contracts saying "your usual place of work is the xyz office" use that address, but an otherwise identical employee with a contract saying "your normal place of work is your home" then use their home. Even if both spend exactly the same amount of time at home, office and client site