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Business travel expenses query

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    Business travel expenses query

    Hi all,

    looking for any opinions on my quandary. I am going on holiday in July. This is nominally for 3 weeks, but I need to come back for a weeks business to conduct negotiations at a client's site. Were it not for the meetings I would not make the trip home, but do you think this would be viewed as 2 separate holidays? I am taking the family on holiday by ferry and they will stay away while I return for business by plane to work Monday to Friday then fly back to continue hols. It is only a 30 minute flight back, but is probably approaching £300 for the return flight, so worth expensing if appropriate.

    Any views would be welcome.

    Thanks

    #2
    Sounds like it's wholly and exclusively for the purpose of business to me but I'd pass it by accountant first.
    'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Kiloh View Post
      Hi all,

      looking for any opinions on my quandary. I am going on holiday in July. This is nominally for 3 weeks, but I need to come back for a weeks business to conduct negotiations at a client's site. Were it not for the meetings I would not make the trip home, but do you think this would be viewed as 2 separate holidays? I am taking the family on holiday by ferry and they will stay away while I return for business by plane to work Monday to Friday then fly back to continue hols. It is only a 30 minute flight back, but is probably approaching £300 for the return flight, so worth expensing if appropriate.

      Any views would be welcome.

      Thanks
      Your flight back is for business purposes. Your return flight to your holiday destination is purely for holiday purposes is it not?
      Anyhow, expense it and let your accountant determine whether it's allowable or not.

      Comment


        #4
        Did you already book your holiday before knowing about these meetings?
        …Maybe we ain’t that young anymore

        Comment


          #5
          I think it may be frowned upon if it were investigated but it comes down to intent. Travel expenses would normally be from a base (home) to a place of work, not from a holiday destination and if you had prior knowledge of a need to attend the meetings then you would struggle to justify the expense. However if there was a problem with the project\widget\whatever and you had to return to sort it or risk losing business then that would be a different matter. Even then I think the flight home would be the only expensable journey, not getting back to your family.

          But ultimately your company, your choice. Ask your accountant.

          Comment


            #6
            Interesting question. If an employer paid for you to fly home and back again, interrupting your holiday, would that really be a BIK?

            Comment


              #7
              IF I had already booked my holiday, advised my client that I wouldn't be available for those weeks and then the client required me to be available, I would require the client to pay for me to travel from my holiday to the meetings.
              I would treat that the same as if I was already on holiday and they asked me to come back.

              I guess the OP needs to answer a few more questions or maybe speak to his accountant (and tell them the whole story)
              …Maybe we ain’t that young anymore

              Comment


                #8
                Will whether or not it is allowable be a deciding factor in if you will make the trip home? In other words, if it's not allowable, will you decline to make the trip home?

                My guess is that you'll make the trip either way. So expense it. It it's ever queried, justify it. If it's deemed not allowed, just say whoops and take appropriate steps to correct it.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by WTFH View Post
                  IF I had already booked my holiday, advised my client that I wouldn't be available for those weeks and then the client required me to be available, I would require the client to pay for me to travel from my holiday to the meetings.
                  I would treat that the same as if I was already on holiday and they asked me to come back.

                  I guess the OP needs to answer a few more questions or maybe speak to his accountant (and tell them the whole story)
                  I was going to say exactly this. Until I saw it was already said.

                  But if the client wouldn't pay, and the OP still Wanted of his own volition to return, then I would expense it via my own LtdCo and leave it to the accountant to convince me otherwise.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I have booked the holiday travel (not really booked a holiday as staying with family. Wife and kids will actually be there for a month, so more of a home from home).

                    I provide fixed price to clients including all necessary UK travel, so no use consulting them, but I am required by contract to carry out the negotiations, so need to be at the meetings.

                    As it happens, I know roughly when the meetings will be, but have not arranged the actual meetings yet as it will depends on a selection process to select the people to negotiate with.

                    Lurker, I didn't think there was any requirement to manage business journeys from home to a place of work, in fact, home to place of work would usually be excluded. Isn't a journey for business is a journey for business regardless of where it began.

                    I don't use an accountant as I have relatively straight forward company tax affairs (by the time I've raised my 6 or 7 invoices a year and pulled together the necessary stuff that woudl go to an accountant, I have already calculated everything required for quarterly FRS VAT and co. accounts). Advice on small things like this isn't worth the cost. If it is at all likely to attract the wrong interest then it's probably worth avoiding. In any case, I would have thought most accountants wouldn't provide definitive advice on such a matter and their insurance would usually cover reasonable skill and care, so they should advise that it is grey area and the businesses risk to take.

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