EIM35003 - Travelling expenses: employees working but not domiciled in the United Kingdom: expenses that may be deducted: example

An employee who is domiciled in France is sent by his employer to work in the United Kingdom for 6 months. He has not worked previously in the United Kingdom. The employer pays the travel expenses of the employee and his wife and pays for their accommodation or subsistence while they are in the United Kingdom.

Some of the expenses met by the employer are deductible under section 338 ITEPA 2003, some are deductible under sections 373 to 375 ITEPA 2003 and some are not deductible at all.

The cost of the employee’s travel to and from France is deductible under section 338 because the United Kingdom is a temporary workplace, see EIM32065. If it were not deductible under that section it would be deductible under section 373, see EIM35030.

The cost of the employee’s wife’s travel to and from France is not deductible under section 338, see EIM31980. It is deductible under section 374, see EIM35050.

The cost of the employee’s accommodation or subsistence is deductible under section 338, see EIM31815. If it were not deductible under that section it would not be deductible under section 373, see EIM35100.

The cost of the employee’s wife’s accommodation or subsistence is not deductible under section 338 (see EIM31980) and nor is it deductible under section 374, see EIM35100.

This is summarised in the table below.

Employee	Wife	Deductible?	Statute
Travel	-	Yes	Section 338
-	Travel	Yes	Section 374
Accommodation or subsistence	-	Yes	Section 338
-	Accommodation or subsistence	No	-