EIM11405 - Living accommodation: meaning of provided: the legislation

Sections 97 and 102 ITEPA 2003

Section 102 ITEPA 2003 advises that the cash equivalent of the benefit from living accommodation that is provided for an employee is to be treated as earnings from the employment.

Provided is not defined in the legislation and its meaning has not been considered by the Courts in relation to a charge under section 145 ICTA 1988. (Section 145 has now become part of Part 3 Chapter 5 ITEPA 2003.) The word provided must be given its ordinary dictionary meaning of supplied or furnished with a thing.

In some cases provided will mean available for use whereas in others it will mean actually used (see EIM11406 for more detail). The meaning of provided is often an issue in the case of provided holiday living accommodation.