EIM34020 - Foreign travel rules: duties performed wholly abroad: employee's initial and terminal journeys

Section 341 ITEPA 2003

Summary

This page is concerned with the first and last journeys of an employee who works wholly abroad.

Conditions

All three of the following conditions must be met:

• the duties of the employment are performed wholly outside the United Kingdom (see EIM34010 for the relevance of merely incidental duties)
• the employee is resident in the United Kingdom (see EIM34010)
• where the employer is a foreign employer (see EIM40031), the employee is domiciled in the United Kingdom.

Nature of the deduction

Allow as a deduction from the earnings of the employment, the cost of the employee’s:

• starting travel expenses - travel from any place in the United Kingdom to take up the employment and
• finishing travel expenses - travel to any place in the United Kingdom on the termination of the employment.

If the travel is partly for another purpose (for example, a holiday) limit the deduction to the amount properly attributable to the taking up or termination of the employment. Apportionment is a matter for agreement and will depend on the facts.

Interim return visits to the United Kingdom

The deduction for interim return visits to the United Kingdom for an employee in these circumstances is provided by different legislation and has different conditions (see EIM34025).