Accommodation expenses and what I can claim

[Johndc30]

My contract is over 350 miles from my primary home and is outside IR35.
I intend to rent a room near the workplace. This could be a B&B , Hotel, Roomshare or rent a 1 bedroom flat.

As I understand I can claim Monday to Friday accommodation costs if deemed reasonable as an expense. That is I stay Monday to Friday and go home Friday night and come back Sunday night.

My problem is I really don't want to go home most weekends as the commute to and from my primary residence will become soul draining, weekend after weekend for just 2 nights. Especially with all my equipment.

I've read on various contractor expenses guides that if I stay the weekend, I can only claim 5/7 days. Makes perfect sense.

Now I've done some research and asked my accountant which lead to conflicting advice. Obviously I will take my accountants advice over Internet guides and other accountant firms guides but I wanted to push the question out there to see if anyone has been or is in a similar situation and what they have been advised.

Quote by Intouch Accounting. "Providing that you are commuting back to your main residence when you are not working on your client’s site, you can claim the full cost of the rent. However if you are staying in the rental accommodation all week, you will only be able to claim a proportion of the rent based on the days you have worked at your clients site. For example, if you stay at the weekend, you will only be able to claim 5/7ths of the weekly rental amount."

Quote by Accountant. "Essentially it is either wholly or exclusively for business or it is not. The accommodation has a dual purpose and therefore is not." - essentially I'm using the accommodation for business during the week and just for digs at the weekend therefore I can't claim anything. If I went home on Friday night I would be able to claim.

Which brings me onto my next question.

If i am onsite 2 out of the 5 days and the rest of the time I am working in the hotel remotely or a hot desk (on the same contract) can I only claim 2 days? I want to stay outside IR35 with the onsite 2 day rule.

Next. If my accountant is correct how does renting a flat work? Most flats you can't rent Monday to Friday and just pay a monthly rental cost. This is dual purpose therefore I cannot claim any accommodation business expenses?

Someone pass me a gun.

Thanks for you help!

[FrontEnder]

I think the difference between your scenario is that you don't seem to go back to your main residence *at all*.

I think the scenario outlined by the online guide you've read covers these secenarios:

a) you stay somewhere for (e.g.) 2 weeks, booked a hotel/apartment/etc for the whole 2 weeks and stayed there for all this time, but only worked Monday to Friday. Or you rented a flat/house

b) You have a 6 month contract and rent somewhere for this 6 months. You usually travel home, but the gig is in London so sometimes you decide to stay a whole weekend to see the sights. You'll normally claim the full weekly rent and costs, but for the weeks where you stay the weekend, you can only claim 5/7.

From what you've said, you're basically moving there for the duration of the contract.

However, your accountant may just be wrong, or yours is a bit of a grey area and he's offering you the safe advice.

[Pondlife]

My problem is I really don't want to go home most weekends as the commute to and from my primary residence will become soul draining, weekend after weekend for just 2 nights. Especially with all my equipment. #1

...snip...

Which brings me onto my next question.

If i am onsite 2 out of the 5 days and the rest of the time I am working in the hotel remotely or a hot desk (on the same contract) can I only claim 2 days? I want to stay outside IR35 with the onsite 2 day rule. #2

#1: If you're not going home for the weekend then the rented property will become your primary residence and therefore not a business expense. i.e. you have chosen to relocate for the duration of the contract.

#2 There is no "2 day" rule for IR35. Are you referring to the 40% test for temporary workplace?

[LondonManc]

I'm currently renting a flat and going back every weekend. I just like the convenience of a settled base rather than a hotel or a room in a house. It's a lot more expensive and realistically, it's not a massive hit that you're taking as you're not really getting the full amount back.

In the past I've done various things - hotels, house-share, etc. and house-share works out the cheapest.

[FrontEnder]

I'm currently renting a flat and going back every weekend. I just like the convenience of a settled base rather than a hotel or a room in a house. It's a lot more expensive and realistically, it's not a massive hit that you're taking as you're not really getting the full amount back.

In the past I've done various things - hotels, house-share, etc. and house-share works out the cheapest.

This is sort of what I'm doing. I'm renting a room in a shared house, but it's my own private room with en-suite and a big lock on the door. I get a very well spec'd kitchen with washing machine/tumble dryer and ironing facilities. It's one payment including all bills and decent broadband, paid weekly and only 2 weeks notice when I leave.

It was actually advertised as 'contractor accommodation', the guy who runs it used to be one. It' so much easier as I don't have to take all my stuff home, can cook and do my washing there when I've got nothing else to do anyway.

[northernladuk]

OP - Did you think about any of this before you accepted the contract??

[LondonManc]

OP - Did you ask your accountant about any of this before you accepted the contract??

FTFY

[Johndc30]

I'm currently renting a flat and going back every weekend. I just like the convenience of a settled base rather than a hotel or a room in a house. It's a lot more expensive and realistically, it's not a massive hit that you're taking as you're not really getting the full amount back.

In the past I've done various things - hotels, house-share, etc. and house-share works out the cheapest.

So are you paying rent Mon-Fri or is it for the full week? So as long as you go home on the Friday, it doesn't matter that you technically paid for Sat/Sun as well?

If this is the case, I'll just roomshare/rent and pay the full week and go home Friday. As most roomshare I've found is based on a weekly/monthly basis including sat/sun.

[Johndc30]

#1: If you're not going home for the weekend then the rented property will become your primary residence and therefore not a business expense. i.e. you have chosen to relocate for the duration of the contract.

#2 There is no "2 day" rule for IR35. Are you referring to the 40% test for temporary workplace?

Yes sorry, the 40% rule.

[northernladuk]

FTFY

Good point well made.