Guidance

Ordinary commuting and private travel (490: Chapter 3)

What qualifies as ordinary commuting and private travel for tax purposes.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 28 March 2014
• Last updated: 18 April 2024 — See all updates

Overview

3.1

An employee cannot have tax relief for the cost of a journey which is ordinary commuting or private travel. The following paragraphs explain what these terms mean.

Ordinary commuting

3.2

The term ‘ordinary commuting’ means any travel between a permanent workplace and:

• home
• any other place which is not a workplace

A workplace is a place where the employee’s attendance is necessary for the performance of the duties of that employment. The meaning of permanent workplace is explained at paragraph 3.10.

For most employees this means that ordinary commuting is the journey they make most days between their home and their normal place of work. However, for some employees the position is more complicated.

3.3

In general, there is no tax relief for the cost of travel between an employee’s permanent workplace and:

• their home
• any other place they visit for non-work reasons
• any place where they perform the duties of another job

Example 1 — ordinary commuting

James works 5 days a week at an office in central Birmingham which is his permanent workplace. From Monday to Thursday he travels to Birmingham from his home.

This journey is ordinary commuting. However, on a Thursday he always goes out for the evening with friends and often stays at a friend’s house overnight from where he travels directly into work in the morning.

His journey from his friend’s house to his permanent workplace is also ordinary commuting as it’s travel to a permanent workplace from a place which is not a workplace.

Example 2 — ordinary commuting

Dermot’s employer sometimes needs him to attend his permanent workplace outside normal working hours – for example, at the weekend. This means he incurs extra costs on bus fares, the cost of meals eaten at his desk and sometimes even the cost of overnight accommodation near his workplace.

No tax relief is available for any of this expenditure because all journeys between home and his permanent workplace are ordinary commuting. It makes no difference that Dermot’s employer needs him to make the journeys or that they’re made outside his normal working hours.

3.4

An employee cannot turn an ordinary commuting journey into a business journey by arranging a business appointment somewhere on the way just to get tax relief. They must be able to show that it was necessary to attend their destination to perform the duties of their employment. The journey must not simply be for the employee’s personal convenience.

3.5

Similarly, an employer cannot turn an ordinary commuting journey into a business journey by asking an employee to stop off on the way to carry out business tasks such as making phone calls.

For more information, read:

• paragraph 2.6 of whether or not travel qualifies for tax relief (Chapter 2)
• paragraphs 4.3 to 4.5 of safeguards against abuse (Chapter 4)

3.6

Where someone other than the employee pays or provides for their ordinary commuting (by reimbursing the costs, by paying directly for the travel or by providing travel facilities) and this arises from or by reason of the employment, the payment or provision is taxable.

Reimbursements must be included as gross pay for PAYE purposes. All such payments and benefits should be reported on form P11D or a Full Payment Submission (FPS) if the employer is registered to payroll benefits. The tax charge arises irrespective of whether the payment or provision is made by the employer or by a third party.

3.7

There is an exemption for certain specific benefits provided through a travel plan. A travel plan is a package of practical measures designed to reduce car use for journeys to and from work, and for business travel. Travel plans are put together by employers, and can be adapted to suit the particular needs of individual sites.

Examples of what could be included in a travel plan include:

• a works bus provided by an employer that is available to all employees generally to transport them to and from work
• cycles or cycling safety equipment

Example 3 — ordinary commuting

To encourage staff to move to a new site at an out of town industrial development, an employer lays on a free bus service for his employees. Because the bus service is available to all employees generally to transport them to and from work there will be no tax charge.

Private travel

3.8

No tax relief is available for journeys which are private travel. Private travel is a journey between:

• an employee’s home and any other place they do not have to be for work purposes
• any 2 places an employee does not have to be for work purposes

Example 4 — private travel

Guy is an administrator. He has a permanent workplace in Derby. At certain times of the year he has work to do over the weekend. Generally, he takes it with him to his holiday cottage in Cornwall where he goes with his family most weekends.

Working in Cornwall does not make his holiday cottage a temporary workplace. His journey there is private travel and he is not entitled to tax relief for any cost.

3.9

No tax relief is available for travel that is made for private rather than for work purposes, even if that travel is to or from a workplace which, in other circumstances, would be a temporary workplace.

Example 5 — private travel

As part of her duties as a supervisor for a chain of supermarkets, Hannah has to visit different outlets. She gets tax relief for her travel. However, in addition Hannah is usually invited to the Christmas parties held at these outlets. She cannot get tax relief for this travel because it’s not for work purposes.

Permanent workplace

3.10

It is usually clear whether or not a place is an employee’s permanent workplace (and, therefore, whether a journey to or from that place is ordinary commuting).

A place is a permanent workplace if the employee attends it regularly for the performance of the duties of the employment and it’s not a temporary workplace.

A temporary workplace is somewhere the employee goes only to perform a task of limited duration or for a temporary purpose.

Paragraph 3.11 explains ‘attends regularly’. Paragraphs 3.13 to 3.28 explain ‘temporary workplace’, ‘limited duration’ and ‘temporary purpose’.

Regular attendance at a workplace

3.11

An employee attends a workplace regularly if their attendance:

• is frequent
• follows a pattern
• is for all or almost all of the period for which they hold or are likely to hold that employment

It’s reasonable to class anything done repeatedly, with some sort of consistency, that is, frequent or habitual, or follows a pattern, as ‘regular’ attendance. This means that fortnightly travel, for example, is capable of being regarded as ‘regular’. However, it’s possible that the attendance might be for a temporary purpose. The longer the interval between each visit, the higher the possibility that the purpose of the visit is a temporary one, therefore each set of circumstances will need to be considered on its own merits.

It’s possible for an employee to have 2 or more permanent workplaces. The employee will not be entitled to tax relief for the costs incurred in travelling from home to any of the permanent workplaces (read paragraph 3.43).

Non-executive directors

3.12

We regard non-executive directors as office holders, which means that the same rules relating to travel expenses apply to them as to employees generally.

In determining whether tax relief is available for the costs of a particular journey, consideration must be given to whether the workplace being travelled to is a temporary or permanent workplace.

Example 6 — non-executive directors

Dinesh is a non-executive director for a large banking group. The main duty of his role is to attend monthly board meetings which he travels to directly from his home.

The board meetings are all held at the banking groups headquarters in London. As all or almost all of the time that Dinesh spends working for that employer is spent at a single workplace it’s a permanent workplace and no relief for his travel expenses is due.

Temporary workplace — attendance for a limited duration or temporary purpose

3.13

A place is a temporary workplace if an employee goes there only to perform a task of limited duration or for a temporary purpose even where the employee attends it regularly.

Task of limited duration

3.14

Where an employee attends a workplace for a limited period of time to do a particular task or project then the workplace will be a temporary workplace, even where the employee’s attendance is regular.

This is on the basis that they’re attending for the purpose of performing a task of limited duration. Read paragraph 3.18 and the 24-month rule.

Attendance for a temporary purpose

3.15

An employee may attend a workplace regularly and perform duties there which are not of limited duration without that workplace becoming a permanent workplace provided the purpose of each visit is for a temporary purpose. Read paragraph 3.41.

3.16

Where a visit is self-contained (that is, arranged for a particular reason rather than as part of a series of visits to the same workplace for the continuation of a particular task) it is likely to be for a temporary purpose.

Example 7 — attendance for a temporary purpose

Fred is a safety officer at his employer’s Nottingham office. He visits the employer’s Derby factory every week to carry out a particular safety check. His responsibility for that factory has been a duty of his employment for a period already spanning 20 years, so it’s not of limited duration.

However, the tasks he performs on each visit are self-contained and the purpose of each visit, considered alone, is temporary. Fred is entitled to tax relief for the full cost of his travel.

Example 8 — attendance for a temporary purpose

Gail is the finance director of a large company based in Scunthorpe. Once a fortnight her duties take her to the company’s production unit in the South East. Her visits are to consider individual investment proposals but she takes the opportunity to discuss local welfare issues as a representative of senior management.

The purpose of the visits is not linked, each one is self-contained. So the production unit is not Gail’s permanent workplace and she is entitled to tax relief for the full cost of her business travel.

Example 9 — attendance for a temporary purpose

Peter lives in Wolverhampton and has a permanent workplace in Birmingham. He is a director of a company which has a number of regional offices.

He has to attend a directors’ meeting each Friday in Stafford. Although the directors’ meetings are regularly held in the same place, Stafford does not become a permanent workplace for Peter because each visit is for a temporary purpose. So he is entitled to tax relief for the cost of his travel from home to Stafford.

Example 10 — attendance for a temporary purpose

Gemma is employed as a school teacher in Oswestry which is a permanent workplace. Every fortnight she goes to an education authority meeting in Bridgnorth. She is entitled to tax relief for her travel from home to Bridgnorth because while she goes there regularly each visit is for a temporary purpose.

Where a second workplace is attended for a meeting and other duties are also carried out there for the sake of efficiency, the duration of time spent at the second workplace should not be considered in isolation.

If a meeting is for a temporary purpose and normal duties are performed either side of the meeting to maximise the employee’s use of time, it does not make the second workplace a permanent one. Provided the employee is genuinely attending the second workplace for a temporary purpose and would not normally have been there otherwise, it follows that the second workplace would likely to be a temporary workplace.

Workplaces which are prevented from being temporary workplaces

3.17

There are a number of circumstances where, even though the employee attends a workplace to perform a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose, it will still be a permanent workplace. This will be the case where the 24 month or fixed term appointment rules apply or where the workplace is a depot or base.

Also, where the workplace is defined by reference to an area, we may treat that area as a permanent workplace. These rules are explained in paragraphs 3.18 to 3.35.

The 24-month rule

3.18

The 24 month rule prevents a workplace being a temporary workplace where an employee attends it in the course of a period of continuous work which lasts, or is likely to last, more than 24 months.

3.19

A period of continuous work is a period of work throughout which the duties of the employment are performed to a significant extent at that place. For the purposes of operating this rule, we regard duties as performed to a significant extent at any workplace if an employee spends 40% or more of their working time at that place.

The 24 month rule will also apply where an employee’s duties are defined by reference to a particular geographical area. Read paragraph 3.32.

3.20

This means that where the employee has spent, or is likely to spend, 40% or more of their working time at that particular workplace over a period of more than 24 months, it will be a permanent workplace.

Example 11 — the 24-month rule

Chris has worked for 5 years at her employer’s head office in Warrington. She is sent by her employer to perform duties at a branch office in Wigan for 18 months, after which she expects to return to work in Warrington.

As Chris’ attendance at the temporary workplace in Wigan is expected to last less than 24 months, tax relief is available for the full cost of her travel between home and the temporary workplace.

Example 12 — the 24-month rule

Duncan has worked for his employer in Sheffield for 10 years and is sent to help out at the employer’s Rotherham branch for 28 months.

There is no tax relief for the cost of travel to and from the workplace. This is because he will be spending more than 40% of his working time there and his attendance is known from the outset to be for more than 24 months so the workplace is a permanent workplace.

His home to work travel is therefore ordinary commuting for which no relief is available.

3.21

The test is whether the employee has spent, or is likely to spend more than 40% of their working time at a particular workplace over a period that lasts or is likely to last more than 24 months.

Where it’s expected that the employee will attend a workplace to perform a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose for a period of less than 24 months, the workplace will be a temporary workplace from the outset.

However, if at a later date circumstances change and the employee is required to attend the workplace for a period that extends beyond 24 months, it will stop being a temporary workplace from the date that the expectation changed.

Example 13 — the 24-month rule

Hassan has worked for his employer for 3 years and is sent to perform full-time duties at a workplace for 28 months.

The posting is unexpectedly ended after 18 months. No tax relief is available for the cost of travel between his home and the workplace, because his attendance is expected to exceed 24 months (though in fact it does not).

The workplace is therefore a permanent workplace and the journey is ordinary commuting.

Example 14 — the 24-month rule

Richard has worked for his employer for 3 years. He is sent to perform full-time duties at a workplace for 18 months. After 10 months the posting is extended to 28 months.

Tax relief is available for the full cost of travel to and from the workplace during the first 10 months (while his attendance is expected to be for less than 24 months), but not after that (once his attendance is expected to exceed 24 months).

Example 15 — the 24-month rule

Sarah has worked for her employer for 7 years and is sent to perform full-time duties at a workplace for 28 months. After 10 months the posting is shortened to 18 months.

No tax relief is available for the cost of travel to and from the workplace during the first 10 months (while her attendance is expected to exceed 24 months), but tax relief is available for the full cost of travel during the final 8 months (once her attendance is no longer expected to exceed 24 months).

3.22

For the 24 month rule to apply, both parts of the test must be met; for a workplace to be deemed permanent, the employee must have spent or be likely to spend more than 40% of their working time at a workplace and they must attend it or be likely to attend it over a period lasting more than 24 months.

Example 16 — the 24-month rule

Edward lives and works in Portsmouth where he is employed as an engineer. His employer sends him to work in Southampton for 1 and a half days a week for 28 months. For the rest of the week he continues to work in Portsmouth which remains a permanent workplace.

In considering whether Edward is entitled to tax relief for travel between home and Southampton it’s important to look at the amount of time he expects to spend there each week and for how long he expects to be in Southampton.

Because he expects to be in Southampton, for less than 40% of his working time, albeit over a period longer than 24 months, and he retains a permanent workplace in Portsmouth, Southampton is a temporary workplace for Edward and he is entitled to tax relief for the cost of getting there and back.

Example 17 — the 24-month rule

Caroline is employed as a laboratory assistant. She lives in Newport and works in Cardiff. Her employer opens a new laboratory in Swansea. Caroline is sent to work there 4 days a week and expects to be there for 30 months.

She is not entitled to tax relief for travel from home to Swansea because she is spending more than 40% of her time at the new laboratory and expects to be there for more than 24 months. It’s therefore a permanent workplace.

Caroline is not entitled to tax relief for travel from home to Cardiff for the one day a week she goes there because her attendance there is not to perform a task of limited duration or for a temporary purpose. The Cardiff laboratory remains a permanent workplace.

Example 18 — the 24-month rule

Steven is employed as a financial adviser working in Brighton. His employer sends him to an office in Bournemouth for one day a week over a 10 month period.

He travels to Bournemouth directly from his home in Hastings. Steven is entitled to tax relief for his travel to Bournemouth because he has gone there for a temporary purpose.

He does not expect to spend more than 40% of his time there nor does he expect to be going there for more than 24 months.

Example 19 — the 24-month rule

Neil is employed as a speech therapist at a hospital in Leeds. His employer sends him to Bradford for 3 days a week to supervise a new department there.

He expects to be in Bradford for 18 months. Neil is entitled to tax relief for his travel from home to Bradford.

Although he is spending more than 40% of his time in Bradford he does not expect to be there for more than 24 months so Bradford is a temporary workplace.

Example 20 — the 24-month rule

Alan lives in Tewkesbury and has a part-time job working 2 days a week in Cheltenham as a telephonist for an insurance company. He is asked to spend one of his 2 working days covering for a colleague at a branch in Gloucester for a period of 32 months.

Alan is not entitled to tax relief for travel between home and Gloucester because, while he spends only one day a week in Gloucester, this is more than 40% of his working time and he expects to be there for more than 24 months.

Alan is not entitled to tax relief for the journey he makes between home and Cheltenham on the other day he works because Cheltenham remains a permanent workplace.

3.23

Usually it will be clear whether or not an employee expects to spend more than 40% of their working time at a particular workplace over a period of more than 24 months.

Where there is some uncertainty, cases should be decided on their facts. An obvious starting point is what the employee has been told about the length of the assignment. Another point to consider may be whether the employee has moved home as a result of the change in workplace.

An employee may be less likely to relocate for a posting that is expected to last under 24 months than for one that is expected to last longer. That is not to say, if someone does move home as a result of a change of workplace, it necessarily means they expect the new workplace to be permanent, or that if they do not move home they necessarily expect the new workplace to be temporary.

Moving home is not a test, it’s only one factor to consider — but it’s an important one. Read paragraph 8.9 of Tax rules on other types of travel and related expenses (Chapter 8) .

Long construction projects

3.24

It will often be the case in the construction industry that workers will be moved from site to site on a regular basis by their employer. In these circumstances, where the employee’s attendance at the site is not expected to last longer than 24 months it will be considered a temporary workplace and tax relief will be available for the cost of travel and subsistence incurred in travelling to that site.

It is important to remember when applying the 24 month rule that the test is whether the employee has spent or is likely to spend more than 40% of their working time at a workplace for a period which lasts or is likely to last more than 24 months.

This means that where an employee is initially expected to work at a site for a period of less than 24 months but at a later date their employer extends the period to longer than 24 months, it will be a temporary workplace up until the date that the period is extended, after which it will be a permanent workplace.

Similarly, where an employee is needed to work at a particular site on a construction project which is initially expected to last 18 months that site will be a temporary workplace.

If, for example due to delays, that project is later extended so that it‘s expected to last for 30 months and the employee is expected to carry on working at the site for the duration of the project, that site will become a permanent workplace from the date that project’s expected duration changed.

Breaks in attendance

3.25

A period of continuous work can remain continuous even where there is a break in attendance.

Example 21 — breaks in attendance

Susan is employed as a human resources consultant. She expects to spend all her working time at a client’s site for 23 months.

She works full-time at the client’s site for 17 months developing a new staff appraisal system and then deals with unexpected priority work elsewhere for 3 months. She then returns to the client’s site for a further 6 months to co-ordinate the roll-out of the new system.

Susan is entitled to tax relief for her travel from home to the site during the first 17 months because she does not during that time expect to be at the site for more than 24 months. She is not, however, entitled to tax relief for her travel from home to the client’s site for the further 6 months.

That is because she now expects to spend 23 out of the 26 months at that site, which will be more than 40% of her working time over a period longer than 24 months.

Construction projects in phases

3.26

Sometimes construction projects will be completed in phases. Where this happens employees working on the construction project site may be moved by their employer to work on a different project in the intervening period and then later return to the original site to work on the next phase of the project.

In determining whether the 24 month rule applies in these circumstances you must still consider whether the employee has attended the workplace for more than 40% of their working time over a period of more than 24 months. The fact that there is a break in the employee’s attendance at the workplace does not alter this.

Example 22 — construction projects in phases

John is a labourer employed by a large construction company to work on the building of a new airport terminal. The building work is to be carried out in phases with the first phase expected to take 18 months to complete.

John attends the site for 18 months until the first phase is completed. He has no expectation of returning to that site. His employer then moves him to a different building project for 6 months after which his employer asks him to return to the original site to complete the second phase of building work which lasts 12 months.

The purpose of John’s attendance is to complete a task of limited duration so during the first 18 months it will be a temporary workplace as John’s attendance is for a period of less than 24 months.

However, when he returns to the airport site he expects to spend 30 out of 36 months working there, and expects to spend more than 40% of his working time there in a period lasting more than 24 months (18 + 6 + 12 = 36 months). This means that during the final 12 months the airport site will be a permanent workplace.

Example 23 — construction projects in phases

Robert is a labourer employed by a construction company to work on the building of a new sporting venue. The first phase of the sporting venue project lasts for 6 months.

Robert attends the site 5 days a week (a total of 132 days over the 6 month period).

After the first phase is complete Robert’s employer moves him to work on a different project site for 6 months. Robert does not expect to return for the second phase of construction at the sporting venue. He attends the second site for a total of 132 days over the 6 month period.

Robert’s employer then moves him to work on a third construction site. After 3 months working on the third site (66 working days) the second phase of the sporting venue project starts. This phase is expected to last 12 months.

Robert’s employer then asks him to work one day a week at the sporting venue and 4 days a week at the third site. Over the 12 month period Robert works 52 days at the sporting venue and 212 days at the third property site.

The sporting venue is capable of being a temporary workplace as the purpose of Robert’s attendance is to complete a task of limited duration. During the first 6 months it will be a temporary workplace as Robert’s attendance is for less than 24 months.

When Robert returns to the sporting venue site he expects to spend a total of 184 days there (132 in the first phase plus 52 in the second phase) out of 594 working days over the whole period which works out to 31% of his working time. Although the total period lasts more than 24 months (6 + 6 + 3 + 12 = 27), as Robert only spends 31% of his working time there the sporting venue site remains a temporary workplace.

Example 24 — construction projects in phases

Roger is a labourer employed by a construction company to work on the building of the same new sporting venue as Robert. The first phase of the sporting venue project lasts for 6 months.

Roger attends the site 5 days a week (a total of 132 days over the 6 month period).

After the first phase is complete Roger’s employer moves him to work on a different project site for 6 months. Roger does not expect to return for the second phase of construction at the sporting venue. He attends the second site for a total of 132 days over the 6 month period.

Roger’s employer then moves him to work on a third construction site. After 3 months working on that site (66 working days) the second phase of the sporting venue project starts. This phase is expected to last 12 months. Unlike Robert, Roger’s employer asks him to work 3 days a week at the sporting venue and 2 days a week at the third site.

This means that over the 12 month period Roger works 158 days at the sporting venue and 106 days at the third site.

The sporting venue is capable of being a temporary workplace as the purpose of Roger’s attendance is to complete a task of limited duration. So during the first 6 months it will be a temporary workplace as Roger’s attendance is for less than 24 months.

When Roger returns to the sporting venue site he expects to spend a total of 290 days there (132 in the first phase plus 158 in the second phase) out of 594 working days over the whole period which works out to 49% of his working time.

As the total period lasts more than 24 months (6 + 6 + 3 + 12 = 27) and as Roger spends 49% of his working time there the sporting venue site will be a permanent workplace when he returns for the second phase.

No requirement to return to a permanent workplace

3.27

An employee does not need to have a permanent workplace to go back to, to get tax relief for travel to a temporary workplace.

Example 25 — no requirement to return to a permanent workplace

Viv starts a new job as a trainee manager for a building society. When she starts her job her employer has not decided where she will be based. As part of her induction into the building society, for the first 2 months Viv is required to spend a few weeks working full-time at each of a number of branches learning about the wide range of services the building society provides. After 2 months she is given a permanent posting to a branch in Swansea.

Viv is entitled to tax relief for the full cost of her journeys from home to the branches she visits in the first 2 months of her employment. Viv is not entitled to tax relief for the cost of travelling from her home to Swansea, once this becomes her permanent posting, because this is an ordinary commuting journey.

The fixed term appointment rule

3.28

The fixed term appointment rule prevents a workplace being a temporary workplace where an employee attends, or is likely to attend, it in the course of a period of continuous work for all or almost all of the period that they’re likely to hold the employment.

A period of continuous work for this purpose has the same meaning as it does for the 24 month rule – that is it’s a period during which the employee spends or is likely to spend more than 40% of their working time at a particular workplace.

For the purpose of operating the fixed term appointment rule we regard a period as being all or almost all of the period that the employee is likely to hold the employment where that period is more than 80% of the likely duration of the employment.

This means that the test is whether the employee has spent, or is likely to spend, 40% or more of their working time at that particular workplace for more than 80% of the likely duration of the employment.

The fixed term appointment rule will also apply where an employee’s duties are defined by reference to a geographical area. Read paragraph 3.32.

Example 26 — the fixed term appointment rule

Mike is taken on for a fixed term employment of 18 months to work at a particular site. No tax relief is available for the cost of travel to and from the site during that period.

Example 27 — the fixed term appointment rule

Laura is employed as a research scientist on a fixed term contract lasting 15 months. Most of her work is to be done in research laboratories in Upminster but to familiarise her with equipment which is new to her, her employer first sends her to the manufacturer’s premises in Inverness.

Laura is entitled to tax relief for her travel to and from Inverness, but not for her travel from home to and from Upminster because it’s the place where she will carry out duties for almost all of her employment.

Depots and similar bases

3.29

Where the main reason an employee regularly attends a workplace is because it’s the:

• base from which they work
• place where they’re routinely allocated we’ll not regard their attendance as being of a limited duration or for a temporary purpose

Example 28 — depots and similar bases

Ian is employed as a bus driver. He picks up his vehicle from a depot each day.

Attendance at that depot at the start and finish of each shift may be brief but the depot is still his permanent workplace.

There is no tax relief for the cost of Ian’s travel between home and the depot because it’s ordinary commuting.

3.30

This does not mean that every place from which an employee works or at which they are allocated tasks is necessarily a permanent workplace.

We’ll regard a depot or similar workplace as a permanent workplace if:

• the employee attends it regularly
• the main reason the employee goes there is because it’s the place from which they work or at which they’re routinely allocated tasks
• it’s the main or only place from which the employee works or at which they’re routinely allocated tasks

Example 29 — depots and similar bases

Jane is employed as a management consultant. She has no permanent workplace. She spends most of her time working from home or at the premises of various clients.

At other times she ‘hot-desks’ at her employer’s offices in various locations or works on the train while travelling between clients.

Jane can be allocated tasks while she is at any of these places. But this is not the reason she goes there. She goes to visit clients and carry out other tasks of limited duration.

Even though she is sometimes allocated tasks at each of these places none of them is her permanent workplace.

3.31

However, where an employee regularly attends a workplace to be routinely allocated tasks while there, that workplace will be a permanent workplace — even if certain tasks are allocated to the employee elsewhere.

Example 30 — depots and similar bases

Matthew is employed as an electrician. Each morning he visits a depot where he is given his job list for the day.

His employer usually contacts him during the day to make changes to that job list. He is therefore, allocated tasks in many different places.

However, Matthew’s depot is still the place he attends regularly where he is routinely allocated tasks and it’s, therefore, his permanent workplace. So, travel between his home and the depot is ordinary commuting for which no tax relief is available.

Matthew will still be able to claim tax relief for his business travel.

Example 31 — depots and similar bases

Jill is employed as a plumber. She has no permanent workplace and can work on more than 100 sites in any one year. She receives instructions about where to work over the phone.

She calls into her employer’s premises most Wednesdays to collect piping and replacement tools. Calls of this type do not make the employer’s premises into a depot or other permanent workplace.

Jill can claim tax relief for all her journeys.

Duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

3.32

Some employees have a job where their duties are defined by reference to a particular geographical area. Where these employees have no other permanent workplace the geographical area will be their permanent workplace.

In each case the test will be whether the employee’s duties are defined by reference to a particular geographical area.

It is important to remember that an employee will only have a geographical area as their permanent workplace where all the following conditions are met.

1. The employee has no other permanent workplace.
2. The employee attends the area in the performance of their duties.
3. The employee has a job where the duties are defined by reference to a geographical area.

Example 32 — duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

Henry lives in Norwich and is a relief manager for a chain of East Anglian regional tourist board offices. He shares responsibility for providing cover for all the offices, attending an office for a full day on each occasion.

There is no regular pattern to his work. His duties are defined by reference to a particular geographical area.

As the area is his permanent workplace Henry is not entitled to tax relief for his non-business travel costs.

Example 33 — duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

Liz is a social worker. Her duties are defined by reference to an area but she has an office which she regularly attends. Although much of her time is spent visiting clients within her area, her office is a permanent workplace.

So her travel between home and the office is ordinary commuting for which she is not entitled to tax relief.

Her travel to and from the clients is business travel.

Example 34 — duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

Hugh is employed by a firm of land agents. His contract of employment defines his duties by reference to the county of Lancashire. Hugh does not live in Lancashire.

However, Hugh actually works in a different office each day of the week but in the same office on the same day each week.

Hugh is not entitled to tax relief for any of his journeys from home to any of the offices including his travel from the edge of Lancashire to any of the offices he visits.

This is because the rules for areas do not apply since Hugh has 5 permanent workplaces (read paragraph 3.10).

3.33

For employees who have an area treated as their permanent workplace, the whole of the geographical area is the workplace.

So if they live outside that area the journey between home (or any other place they visit other than in the performance of the duties of that employment) and the edge of the geographical area is ordinary commuting with no tax relief available for the cost of that journey.

Example 35 — duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

Charlotte is employed as a gamekeeper on a large country estate. She does not work at any particular site; her duties are defined in terms of the estate as a whole. The estate as a whole is her permanent workplace.

Charlotte lives outside the estate. She is not entitled to tax relief for the cost of her travel between home and the boundaries of the estate – that travel is ordinary commuting.

Example 36 — duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

Mark works on the London Underground network. He has no office and his duties are defined by reference to the area served by the network – so the whole of this geographical area is his permanent workplace.

Mark lives in Leeds. Each Monday he travels to London and stays in a hotel before returning home on Friday. He is entitled to tax relief for the full cost of the business journeys he makes within the geographical area served by the London Underground network.

No tax relief is available for the cost of his journey between home and the edge of that geographical area or for the cost of his hotel accommodation in London. These costs are attributable to ordinary commuting.

3.34

An employee whose duties are defined by reference to a particular geographical area is entitled to tax relief for the full cost of business travel:

• made within the geographical area
• to other workplaces outside the area

Example 37 — duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

Hope lives in Perth and is employed by a Scottish utility company. She has no office and her duties are defined by reference to the whole of the geographical area of Scotland which is her permanent workplace.

Sometimes Hope has to travel long distances within Scotland and occasionally she goes to London on business. This often involves meals while travelling and staying in hotels.

Hope is entitled to tax relief for these travel costs in full.

3.35

Where an employee has no site that is their permanent workplace and the duties of the employment are defined by reference to a geographical area, the occasional performance of duties outside that area will not prevent the area from being a permanent workplace.

Example 38 — duties defined by reference to a particular geographical area

Gary is a police officer. He has a community liaison role which mainly involves visiting schools and other organisations within the area covered by his police authority. Although nominally attached to a particular station, Gary does not regularly attend that station and no particular site qualifies as his permanent workplace.

However, his duties are defined by reference to the area covered by the police authority, so that geographical area is his permanent workplace.

Each year Gary visits universities across the country to recruit new officers. He visits each university for a temporary purpose. These visits do not change his permanent workplace which remains the geographical area covered by his police authority.

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 39 — employees who work at home

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 (read 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 40 — employees who work at home

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 41 — employees who work at home

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

Modern information and communications technology has allowed many more employees to work from home on a flexible or hybrid basis. Under such arrangements, the employee will have a base office and journeys from home to that location will be ordinary commuting.

Example 42 — employees who work at home

Elliot’s employer has decided to offer hybrid working to its employees. This allows employees to mix working at home with working in the Bristol office. This flexible way of working is voluntary for Elliot, so he is not required to work from home as part of his role.

Elliot decides to split his time between working at home and in the Bristol office. Elliot’s office will remain his permanent workplace when he begins to work in a hybrid way. This means Elliot cannot claim tax relief on journeys made from his home to the office because such journeys are ordinary commuting.

3.40

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.

Agency workers

3.41

Where a worker provides their services through an agency and their income is subject to tax as employment income, and they generally attend only one workplace in respect of each engagement that workplace will usually be a permanent workplace.

Where nurses, domestic workers and others provide their services through an agency and do a number of different jobs on the same day, those workers may get tax relief for travel between those jobs, but not for travel from home to the first job and to home from the last job on each day.

Example 43 — agency workers

Beth is an accounts clerk who gets all her work through an employment agency. She rarely takes a job which lasts more than 2 weeks. Beth always travels straight from home to work at the premises of the employment agency’s client.

She is not entitled to tax relief for any of these journeys because each job is treated as a separate employment and so all her journeys are ordinary commuting.

Working through an employment intermediary

3.42

There are rules about workers who provide their services through an employment intermediary including those employed under overarching contracts of service. When:

• such a worker personally provides services (other than an exception for ‘excluded services’) to a client through an employment intermediary, including a recruitment agency, umbrella company, personal service company (PSC) or other similar structure
• their work is similar to that of an employee, then each assignment is treated as a separate employment

A worker who regularly commutes from home to a workplace for each assignment is not eligible for relief on travel and subsistence because such journeys are ordinary commuting. Read section 3.2.

If the work is not similar to that of an employee, each workplace is a temporary workplace with the tax and National Insurance contributions treatment following the existing rules for travel to temporary workplaces.

Example 44 — working through an employment intermediary

Joe is a warehouse worker and is engaged via an employment intermediary which employs him under an overarching contract of service. His work is similar to that of an employee.

The client’s premises to which he travels daily to work are permanent workplaces and as such the travel from his home to those premises is ordinary commuting.

Example 45 — working through an employment intermediary

Catherine, a computer consultant, is the only employee of a company which she controls. She is a specialist in banking systems. She spends 18 months working full-time at the headquarters of a merchant bank in Lombard Street in the City of London. She then moves next door to design a new computer system for a different bank where she expects to stay working full-time for 22 months.

After that assignment she moves to work at another bank on Cheapside for 17 months. If Catherine had been engaged directly by clients, she would’ve been considered as an employee.

Catherine is not entitled to tax relief for her travel from home to these workplaces because she is providing her services through a PSC and each assignment is treated as a separate employment.

Exception for excluded services

Excluded services are those provided wholly in the client’s home.

Example 46 — exception for excluded services

Paul works away from home during the week only returning at weekends. As he’s away so much he decides to get help with his domestic chores. During the summer he engages a gardener, George.

George works through his own PSC. As George provides his services in Paul’s home, the rules which treat the client’s workplace as a permanent workplace do not apply. So, George’s travel to Paul’s home is travel to a temporary workplace.

People with more than one workplace at the same time

3.43

Someone who has 2 or more employments or is in an employment which requires regular attendance at more than one workplace, may have more than one permanent workplace during the same period.

Example 47 — people with more than one workplace at the same time

John is a mortgage adviser employed by a chain of building societies. He works 5 days each week but spends each day in a different branch in a different town.

He works in the same branch on the same day each week. John is not entitled to tax relief for his travel from home to any of the branches.

That is because he travels regularly to each branch and his work is neither of limited duration nor for a temporary purpose. So each branch is a separate permanent workplace.

Example 48 — people with more than one workplace at the same time

Mary is employed as an office manager by a firm of architects. The firm operates from offices in Bristol and Bath. Mary spends each morning at the office in Bristol and each afternoon at the office in Bath.

Each office is a permanent workplace. Mary is not entitled to tax relief for the cost of travel between her home and either of the offices. However, travel between the 2 workplaces is travel in the performance of her duties. So tax relief is available for the full cost of this travel.

Example 49 — people with more than one workplace at the same time

Tom is a computer games programmer working for a large game studio. He lives in Birmingham and travels daily to the company’s head office which is in Coventry. This is his permanent workplace and his journeys between home and Coventry are ordinary commuting.

The computer game’s artwork is produced by a team of graphic designers who are based at one of the company’s regional offices in Lichfield.

The game is developed in fortnightly sprints and every 2 weeks Tom’s duties require him to visit the Lichfield office to lay down goals for the forthcoming sprint and assess whether the goals he set at his previous visit have been achieved. Tom travels directly from his home in Birmingham to Lichfield on these occasions.

The fortnightly Lichfield visits are regular and part of a series of visits to the same workplace for the continuation of a particular task. Lichfield is therefore also a permanent workplace and travel from his home to those premises is ordinary commuting.

3.44

Most employees will not have more than one permanent workplace at the same time. Each case will depend on the particular facts. Things that would point to a workplace being a second permanent workplace include:

• the employee regularly performs a significant part of their duties there
• people would expect to be able to contact the employee at the second location
• the employee has an office, or desk, and support services at the second workplace which they regularly use
• the employee performs similar tasks at each workplace
• the employee does not attend the workplace solely to do specific tasks such as attendance at a specially arranged meeting (read paragraph 3.13).

Managers working across sites

3.45

It is common for managers to have staff in more than one site across various geographical locations within the UK. Where this is the case and they’re required to attend each site regularly it’s possible that those individuals may have more than one permanent workplace.

Example 50 — managers working across sites

June is a manager within a government department with staff located in offices in Birmingham and London. June lives near to Birmingham and uses the Birmingham office as her main base, where she performs many of the duties of her employment and considers it her permanent workplace. She has a desk there and her personal assistant works there.

June is expected to visit her staff in London regularly, she spends 3 days a week in Birmingham and 2 days a week in London. She does not have a permanent desk in the London office although there is always a desk available for her to use near her team.

June’s travel to the London office is regular and as her attendance is simply to carryout the ongoing duties of her management role it’s neither to perform a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose. The London office is, therefore, a second permanent workplace.

June is entitled to tax relief for the cost she incurs on travelling between the Birmingham and London offices as this is travel in the performance of the duties. She is not entitled to tax relief for travel from her home to either the Birmingham or London offices as this is ordinary commuting.

Example 51 — managers working across sites

Helen is a senior manager in a large banking group which has its head office in London. She lives in Leeds and has a permanent workplace at the company’s Leeds office where she carries out the ongoing duties of her role.

Each week Helen needs to travel to the London office to attend various specific management board meetings. She travels to London 3 days each week for this purpose.

Helen’s attendance at the London office is regular, however because it’s purely for the purpose of attending specifically arranged management meetings rather than for the purpose of carrying out the ongoing duties of her role, her attendance is for a temporary purpose. As such the London office is capable of being a temporary workplace.

Helen’s attendance at the London office 3 days a week is, however, more than 40% of her working time and is expected to last longer than 24 months. The London office is, therefore, a permanent workplace.

Example 52 — managers working across sites

Ajit works for a sales company managing teams in Reading and Oxford. The company’s head office is in London.

Ajit needs to split his time equally between the Reading and Oxford offices to carry out his management duties. He has a desk and computer in both offices.

Once a week he is also travels to the London office to attend a regular management meeting with all the managers across the company.

Both the Reading and Oxford offices are permanent workplaces as Ajit attends them regularly and his attendance is for the ongoing duties of his role rather than to complete a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose.

Therefore he is entitled to tax relief for the costs he incurs in travelling between Oxford and Reading but he is not entitled to tax relief for the costs he incurs in travelling from his home to either the Oxford or Reading offices.

Whilst Ajit’s travel to the London office is regular the purpose of his visits is self-contained therefore his attendance is for a temporary purpose and the London office is a temporary workplace.

3.46

No single factor is decisive in establishing whether a second location is a permanent workplace. It depends on the particular work pattern.

If, for example, someone regularly spends 40% of their time at a second location, it’s unlikely, given the frequency of the visits that each visit would be to perform a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose.

In these circumstances, we would normally presume that the second location is a permanent workplace.

When a workplace stops being a permanent workplace

3.47

Sometimes a place may stop being an employee’s permanent workplace. This may happen, for example, because an employer moves to a place some distance away.

Example 53 — when a workplace stops being a permanent workplace

Emily is employed full-time by a bank. She is sent to work for 6 months in a newly opened branch in another town. At the end of that period she accepts a promotion and stays at the new branch. At that point the new branch becomes Emily’s permanent workplace.

Two years later when Emily is asked to cover for an absent colleague in her old branch for a couple of months, she is entitled to tax relief for any cost of travelling from home to the old branch because that is a temporary workplace.

Passing work on the way to somewhere else

3.48

An employee may pass a permanent workplace on the way to or from a temporary workplace.

If the employee stops and performs substantive duties at the permanent workplace then there are 2 journeys — ordinary commuting between home and the permanent workplace and a business journey between the permanent workplace and the temporary workplace.

Tax relief will be available for the cost of the second of these journeys — but not the first.

3.49

Where the employee does not stop at the permanent workplace, or any stop is incidental to the business journey, all of the journey is business travel.

Example 54 — passing work on the way to somewhere else

Darren drives each day between his home in Southampton and his office in Winchester. One day he has to travel on business to Birmingham and back.

He drives directly from home to Birmingham but stops off at his office to pick up some papers.

His stop is incidental to his business journey. His business journey is from his home in Southampton to Birmingham and back.

Tax relief is available for the cost of his journey from his home to Birmingham and back.

Example 55 — passing work on the way to somewhere else

Andrew drives each day between his home in Gloucester and his office in Bristol. One day he needs to attend a training event in Bath.

Rather than travelling directly to Bath from his home he has to stop off at his office in Bristol to take part in a telephone conference about a project he has been working on.

After the telephone conference has finished he drives to the training event in Bath.

As Andrew has stopped off at his workplace to carry out substantive duties on the way to the training event in Bath the first part of his journey between home and Bristol is ordinary commuting.

Tax relief is available for the cost of his journey from Bristol to Bath, and from Bath back to his home address as this is travel to a temporary workplace.

Emergency call-out expenses

3.50

Employees sometimes have to travel to a permanent workplace unexpectedly or in an emergency. Where the cost of that journey would not qualify for tax relief in normal circumstances, it will not qualify for tax relief just because the journey was made in response to an emergency.

It makes no difference if the journey takes place outside normal working hours or if the employee is returning to the workplace having completed their normal duties there.

Example 56 — emergency call-out expenses

Isabel is required to be a keyholder for her permanent workplace. One night she is called out by the police responding to a burglar alarm.

Isabel is not entitled to tax relief for her journey from home because it’s ordinary commuting.

3.51

Exceptionally, where an employee is obliged to perform duties at home and while travelling to an emergency at a permanent workplace, the travel may be regarded as travel between 2 workplaces. In such circumstances, the cost of that travel will qualify for tax relief.

To get tax relief, the employee has to:

• give advice on handling the emergency before starting the journey
• accept responsibility for those aspects appropriate to their duties from that time
• have a continuing responsibility for the emergency whilst travelling to the permanent workplace

Example 57 — emergency call-out expenses

Jack is employed as a vet. He operates a surgery from his home. He also works at an animal hospital some distance away. It’s an objective requirement of his employment that he perform his duties at these 2 workplaces.

One night he needs to attend an emergency at the hospital. He is phoned at his home or surgery and immediately takes responsibility for the emergency and issues instructions on action to be taken.

While travelling to the hospital he uses a hands-free mobile phone to continue to control the response to the emergency. The journey is between 2 workplaces in the performance of Jack’s duties.

Jack is entitled to tax relief for the cost of this journey to the hospital.

Employee on standby

3.52

Where an employee is on stand-by and can be called out at short notice, they are still not entitled to tax relief for a journey which is ordinary commuting.

Example 58 — employee on standby

Jane works fixed hours in a restaurant, but can also be called in when there are staff shortages. When she is called in outside her normal hours she is not entitled to tax relief for travel from home to the restaurant because this is ordinary commuting.

Published 28 March 2014
Last updated 18 April 2024 + show all updates

1. 18 April 2024

   Section 3.39 has been added to explain the rules around claiming tax relief for flexible and hybrid workers.

2. 28 March 2014

   First published.