Employees who work at home
3.36
Whether or not an employee’s home is a workplace does not affect the availability of tax relief for travel expenses. Travel expenses from home to a permanent workplace will only qualify for tax relief if the journey qualifies as travel in the performance of the duties of the employment.
Even though it may have been accepted that the employee’s home is a workplace, it does not necessarily follow that they’ll be entitled to tax relief for the cost of travel between their home and a permanent workplace.
This is because the place where an employee lives will ordinarily be down to their personal choice. The expense of travelling from their home to any other place is a consequence of that personal choice; not an objective requirement of the job.
Example
Chandra is a home based sales consultant living in Derby for a company whose office is in Nottingham. He carries out a large part of his substantive duties at home.
He was employed on the basis that his employer requires him to work from home 4 days a week and one day a week in the Nottingham office. On the day that he attends the office a desk and facilities are available for him to use however these are not available on the other 4 days.
Chandra is entitled to claim tax relief for some of the additional costs he incurs from having to work from home however he is not entitled to any tax relief for the costs he incurs in travelling from his home to the Nottingham office.
This is on the basis that the Nottingham office is Chandra’s permanent workplace as he attends it regularly and his attendance is not to perform a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose.
That Chandra’s home is a workplace for the purpose of claiming tax relief for additional household expenses does not change the fact that he is travelling between his home and a permanent workplace.
His travel to the Nottingham office is ordinary commuting.
3.37
Where an employee performs substantive duties of their employment at home as an objective requirement of the job, we may accept their home as a workplace for the purposes of the ‘travelling in the performance of the duties’ rule (see paragraph 2.5).
Where this is the case the employee will be entitled to tax relief for the expenses of travelling from home to other workplaces as their travel is in the performance of their duties.
Usually, we’ll only accept that working at home is an objective requirement of the job if the employee needs certain facilities to perform those duties, and those facilities are only practically available to the employee at their home.
We will not accept that working at home is an objective requirement of the job if the employer provides appropriate facilities in another location that could be practically used by the employee, or the employee works from home as a matter of choice.
Example
Angela is an area sales manager who lives in Glasgow. She manages the company’s regional sales team across Scotland. As the company’s nearest office is in Newcastle Angela cannot practically attend that office and needs to carry out her administrative work at home.
Angela’s employer needs her to keep all client information securely at home, and so Angela cannot carry out that administrative work anywhere else.
Angela is entitled to tax relief for the expenses she incurs in travelling from her home to the company’s office in Newcastle, as well as for her journeys within Scotland.
3.38
Even where the employee works at home as an objective requirement of the employment, tax relief for the cost of travel between their home and their permanent workplace will only be due for travel made on days where the employee’s home is a workplace.
Only on those days is the employee travelling between 2 workplaces. On other days the employee is travelling between their home and a permanent workplace, which is ordinary commuting.
Example
Peter works in his employer’s office for 4 days every week but the requirements of the job dictate that he must work at home every Friday. It’s accepted that his home is a workplace on a Friday.
His travel from home to his employer’s office on Monday to Thursday is ordinary commuting because those premises are a permanent workplace so no tax relief is available for his travel costs on those days.
However, if he is unexpectedly required to visit his employer’s premises on a Friday to carry out the duties of his employment he will get tax relief for his travel costs because he is travelling between 2 workplaces.
3.39
An employee is not entitled to tax relief for journeys between their home and any other place attended for reasons other than work, even when home is a workplace. Such travel is private travel.
Tax relief will of course be allowed for the costs incurred on travelling between the employee’s home and a temporary workplace.