I wonder if anybody would be kind enough to help me through the fog in my head!
I have a client who works in the construction industry and continually gives me a headache. He always has multiple jobs throughout the year which are always a combination of self employment, PAYE and work through intermediaries.
While these can generally be classed as temporary sites due to the nature of the job and would therefore fulfill the temporary workplace scenario he always leaves a job willingly so it is hard to establish the initial contract length and of course when asked it was always temporary!
The expenses he could potentially claim would be very high as he is travelling 200 miles plus from home and paying for hotel accommodation so obviously I do need to get it right.
If he is employed direct by the company on PAYE on a permanent contract only working at one site but it is a temporary site, would he be eligible to claim full expenses or is this only if employed through an agency?
Any help greatly appreciated.
Valerie
-- Edited by lots to learn on Thursday 3rd of August 2017 08:05:04 AM
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Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Hi
Thanks for your reply.
He's an employee at the moment but has been employed direct by some companys and also through umbrella companies who have deducted tax. These have been on contracts which are temporary or fixed term.
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Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
As far as PAYE goes he would need to establish his place of work. If he applies for a job and its 200 miles away then that's commuting to work, unless the employer takes him on to work at A and then asks him to work at B temporarily.
Presumably he was employed by the umbrella company as an employee? It's a very grey area and you must determine whether HMRC would accept the temporary workplace rule.
Even if the above two scenario's were temporary workplaces he can't claim the expenses, only the tax relief on those costs, usually by way of a P87 form. (I'm assuming the employer hasn't already re-imbursed these costs.
Self employment is different. If he does different contracts throughout the year then he could claim his home as the base and class the workplaces as temporary ones, and claim mileage, accommodation and certain meals as an expense, but only in a self employed role, not as a PAYE employee.
I'm sure you're aware of the standard rules regarding temporary places of work but I'll put them here for future readers. If, at the time of taking on the contract, it is known that it will last 2 years before, then it can't be classed as temporary. If, during the temporary contract, it becomes known that it will last two years or more, then it immediately ceases being a temporary workplace.
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John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
Many thanks
He was previously self employed taking on short term contracts so we were able to claim but I think I'll give HMRC a call in this instance to be sure
Thanks for your help
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Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
