I have been asked by a friend to do his tax return, which is fine, I used to do my husband's when he was self-employed, so no worries, EXCEPT that this friend tells me he understands he can claim relief at a fixed rate for food, as he works in a physically demanding job and need sustenance.
I am assuming he is referring to an agreement between HMRC and the construction industry for a fixed deduction but I can't find any reference to this.
Can anyone confirm/deny or otherwise point me to a definite answer ?
Sounds like he's been getting advice from the pub tax expert.
There may well be agreements between the construction industry and HMRC but I can't imagine there being any in relation to food because it is a physically demanding job. There may be a fixed amount agreed for laundry I'm sure I read in the past.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
I have clients who have fixed subsistence allowance rates given through a dispensation I applied for on their behalf, but they are directors or employees of Ltd companies and not self-employed. But the allowances come with a load of conditions attached.
I do have self-employed clients that claim subsistence but all the claims are backed up by receipts, and normally a hotel bill! A few that have to travel long distances or work unsociable hours also claim - but I tell them if they pay for themselves, its subsistence and allowable, but if they also pay for someone else then its entertainment and not allowable.
So Buck unless your friend has receipts to prove he purchased food for himself only, and he had to work at locations a long way from his "normal place of work as well as his home" (which for a builder tends to be the site he is work!), or is staying overnight away from home - then he can't claim anything.
This claim seems to be because of the nature of the work. The allowance you are talking about isn't related to any particular sector. In the OP case will probably be one pub expert talking to another pub expert and getting allowances mixed up. Then passing it off as fact.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
I remember once when I was the pub expert on a different matter. One afternoon I'd been at the local football match. A small crowd of only about two or three hundred. A spot of bother broke out between opposing fans and the police then decided to search about 50 of the home support for weapons. In the pub after the match I said that would likely mean a lot of paper to be filled in by the police as I was sure the police nowadays have to give a slip of paper to the person being searched informing them of the reasons for the search. One person in the pub that I had never spoken to before said in Scotland this was not the case. I argued how would Scotland be any different from the rest of the UK. He maintained, "trust me, it is". I left it at that. A couple of years later I joined the committee of the football club so got to know this person better. He wasn't officially on the committee but helped out as much as other committee members. It transpired he was a Chief Inspector in the police. I had to bring up out conversation of a couple of years previously which he just laughed about.
I should have known he was "police" - they have a particular way of talking. Just listen to any policeman or policewoman being interviewed on tv.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
