New guidance on commuting expenses for hybrid workers
You probably know that you can’t claim tax relief for the expenses associated with travelling to your usual place of work. However, what is the position if you're a “hybrid” worker? The guidance on this has recently been updated for clarity, so what's the answer?
The rules surrounding which journeys you can and cannot claim tax relief for travel expenses are complex, resulting in HMRC publishing guidance with over 50 examples. As a general rule, there is no tax relief for the cost of a journey which is ordinary commuting or private travel. Ordinary commuting means travel to and from a permanent workplace.
For hybrid workers, a question arises as to whether their home or their office should be considered to be their permanent workplace. The guidance on the tax deductibility of commuting expenses for hybrid workers (those who have the flexibility to choose whether to work from home or in the office) has been updated. This puts beyond doubt that journeys from home to a base office will be ordinary commuting. Therefore, tax relief is not available for such costs.
Note that the situation is different if the homeworking arrangements are not voluntary. For example, if you must work from home as a requirement of your job, you should be able to claim tax relief for expenses incurred travelling to your employer.
Related Topics
-
HMRC and Companies House to scrap free filing services
From April 2026 companies won’t be able to file their tax returns and accounts using the HMRC and Companies House free-to-use service. What steps should companies take ahead of the deadline?
-
Annual accounting: how are interest and late payment penalties calculated?
If you use the annual accounting scheme, you will submit one return each year instead of four or twelve. What are the potential traps if you don’t meet the scheme conditions?
-
Is basis period reform really over and done with?
You heaved a sigh of relief after submitting your 2023/24 self-assessment tax return, especially as it meant the fiddly basis period calculations were behind you. But why might it be to your advantage to revisit them?