Temporary relocation expenses

[tonycattlin]

Hi,

I run a limited company and may need to temporarily (6-12 months) relocate myself and my family if my company finds work outside a reasonable commutable distance from our family home.

If we rent our house out and rent close to where the work is, I would be interested to know what expenses would be tax exempt ? In particular there would be agency fees on both sides and obvously rental fees. Also there will be removal costs etc.

If there is a period where our family home is not rented after we have moved does this make a difference ?

I have found plenty on the HMRC site on permanent relocation but am struggling with this one. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Tony

 

[yorkshirejames]

I'd have to check further, but on the face of it if you need to rent a flat for the exclusive purpose of attending a temporary workplace, this would be a valid business expense (for upto 24 months).

How this might change if you moved your whole family, and also rented out your existing home, I do not know.

If you did get an assignment away from home, do look into whether a local hotel could do you a deal for booking a room weekdays constantly for three months etc. This together with cheap train fares home could well be cheaper - and provide you with the flexibility you need should your contract be cancelled half way through.

 

[tonycattlin]

YJ - Thanks for the reply. I would have to think very hard about going down the route of being away from home every week for 12 months and commuting for hours each Monday and Friday. This is why relocating by renting seemed a good alternative.

If I bought a house there are plenty of relocation tax expenses I could claim but it doesnt seem to be as clear (well not even mentioned as far as I can see) for renting a permanent home as a result of relocation due to work .

I would have to move to do the work so it seems a very valid solution with relocation expenses. I thought it would be fairly commonplace but maybe not.

 

[Wowee]

I would have to move to do the work so it seems a very valid solution with relocation expenses. I thought it would be fairly commonplace but maybe not.

It isn't commonplace to move the whole family on a temporary basis, that's the problem. My guess is that the revenue would perceive a BIK in the 'private use' , as you are gaining accommodation for other family members.

Incidentally, my OH worked away from home for 2 years, and we (well I) negotiated a deal with the local Swallow hotel. For 2 years, 4 nights a week, he lived at the swallow for £40 per night, which included breakfast, parking, use of their gym facilities AND VAT (so we actually paid £34 ).

Mind you, he never want's to see the inside of a hotel room again !!

 

[yorkshirejames]

It isn't commonplace to move the whole family on a temporary basis, that's the problem. My guess is that the revenue would perceive a BIK in the 'private use' , as you are gaining accommodation for other family members.

Incidentally, my OH worked away from home for 2 years, and we (well I) negotiated a deal with the local Swallow hotel. For 2 years, 4 nights a week, he lived at the swallow for £40 per night, which included breakfast, parking, use of their gym facilities AND VAT (so we actually paid £34 ).

Mind you, he never want's to see the inside of a hotel room again !!

Potentially if you kept your existing place (not renting it out) and if the whole family return to the home at the weekend it might work - but you couldn't claim wife and child train tickets as business expenses.

I expect the issue of being away from the missus is something that could be the subject of a seperate thread ;-)

Seriously though, would it work for you that you travel down monday morning, stay hotel monday and tuesday night, leave work bang on 5 wednesday to go back home for the night, go back to london thursday morning, stay thurs night, then come home friday evening?