Are client contributions towards travel expenses taxable?

[Grizzlyjunk]

For my current contract, I charge:

- a fee per day.
- a contribution towards travel expenses. This is a fixed amount for each day that I travel to the client's site.

Actual travel expenses (hotel and train tickets) are paid by me.

My question is this: are the contributions towards travel expenses taxable? I have a limited company and I'm wondering whether I pay corporation tax on these contributions.

Matt

[mudskipper]

For my current contract, I charge:

- a fee per day.
- a contribution towards travel expenses. This is a fixed amount for each day that I travel to the client's site.

Actual travel expenses (hotel and train tickets) are paid by me.

My question is this: are the contributions towards travel expenses taxable? I have a limited company and I'm wondering whether I pay corporation tax on these contributions.

Matt

Yes and no.

If you, for example, spend £30 on a train ticket, and either your Ltd Co pays for it or reimburses you, then yourCo will not pay corp tax on that £30.

If you add £30 to your invoice to the client, then yourCo will pay corp tax on that £30.

So if the client reimburses yourCo, and yourCo reimburses you for the same amount (N.B. the amount actually spent!), then the net result is that there's no corp tax to be paid.

[tractor]

.....

For my current contract, I charge:

- a fee per day.
- a contribution towards travel expenses. This is a fixed amount for each day that I travel to the client's site.

Actual travel expenses (hotel and train tickets) are paid by me.

My question is this: are the contributions towards travel expenses taxable? I have a limited company and I'm wondering whether I pay corporation tax on these contributions.

Matt

We need more input.

Does your company invoice the client for their contribution or is it paid directly to you personally? The answer makes a heap of difference to how it must be treated by you, your company and how the tax office will see it.

[VectraMan]

So if the client reimburses yourCo, and yourCo reimburses you for the same amount (N.B. the amount actually spent!), then the net result is that there's no corp tax to be paid.

Yes, but, if ClientCo didn't reimburse you for those expenses you'd get tax relief on those expenses. So although you're not paying CT on the reimbursed expenses, you are losing out on the reduction in CT that you would have had if they didn't. So in practical terms, you are paying the CT as your CT is increased.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Yes, but, if ClientCo didn't reimburse you for those expenses you'd get tax relief on those expenses. So although you're not paying CT on the reimbursed expenses, you are losing out on the reduction in CT that you would have had if they didn't. So in practical terms, you are paying the CT as your CT is increased.

This makes no sense.

You're still getting the CT relief on the expenses YourCo reimburses to you.

Yes, this is only cancelling out the CT liability on the extra income from the rebilled expenses but the fact that you've been able to re-bill them means neither you OR YourCo is out of pocket. You are clearly better off from re-billing.

There is one important thing to note though. OP mentioned his company charging a flat rate for daily expenses. This is fine, but his company can only reimburse him personally for the actual expense incurred or there will be a personal tax liability. So if he charges the client £50 but only spent £30, then his company should only reimburse him £30. This means the £20 excess is essentially profit and will remain liable to CT, obviously.

[northernladuk]

Would it just be easier to consider this as an uplift in rate and then just claim his own expenses from his company as normal? Would be much easier no?

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

For my current contract, I charge:

- a fee per day.
- a contribution towards travel expenses. This is a fixed amount for each day that I travel to the client's site.

Actual travel expenses (hotel and train tickets) are paid by me.

My question is this: are the contributions towards travel expenses taxable? I have a limited company and I'm wondering whether I pay corporation tax on these contributions.

Matt

Anything you charge the client to cover your expenses whether it's a flat rate or actual costs, are just part of your service fees like anything else. They are turnover and any profit is subject to CT.

As mudskipper says, any rebilled expenses will normally be offset by YourCo reimbursing you for your expenses although what YourCo charges for expenses doesn't necessarily correlate with what it reimburses you. There are rules around what YourCo can reimburse you for without there being personal tax implications but it can bill your client whatever it likes.

Don't forget that your rebilled expenses are also subject to VAT regardless of whether the original expense had VAT on it.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Would it just be easier to consider this as an uplift in rate and then just claim his own expenses from his company as normal? Would be much easier no?

That is effectively all it is. I assume OPs company is still reimbursing him for actual expenses incurred subject to the usual rules.

[jamesbrown]

There is one important thing to note though. OP mentioned his company charging a flat rate for daily expenses. This is fine, but his company can only reimburse him personally for the actual expense incurred or there will be a personal tax liability. So if he charges the client £50 but only spent £30, then his company should only reimburse him £30. This means the £20 excess is essentially profit and will remain liable to CT, obviously.

Very true insofar as it's important to separate the completely distinct activities of YourCo billing expenses (for which the contract dictates what is acceptable) and you claiming expenses from YourCo (for which there are strict rules to avoid a personal tax liability). However, the "actual expenses incurred" depends on whether YourCo has a dispensation in place, for which benchmark scale rates may apply.

[northernladuk]

Very true insofar as it's important to separate the completely distinct activities of YourCo billing expenses (for which the contract dictates what is acceptable) and you claiming expenses from YourCo (for which there are strict rules to avoid a personal tax liability). However, the "actual expenses incurred" depends on whether YourCo has a dispensation in place, for which benchmark scale rates may apply.

Which we can safely assume most new LTD's won't have.