renting accomudation near by client

[namnadasht]

hi

how far should the client be in order to quality for staying in a hotel or renting secondary accomudation and claiming back as expense?

lets say contractor lives in north london and client is based in city or south part of london, in this case is it acceptable to rent a secondary acomudation ?
is there limit distance wise ?

[Sockpuppet]

If it's needed for the business it's an acceptable claim. In other words how far are you willing to commute?

Depends on your circumstances. The closer you are to the client the harder it would be to argue that it's not your normal home. How long does it take you to get to the client?

[northernladuk]

Remember it comes out of your pocket at the end of the day (less 20% ofc). Just because the company pays doesn't mean it's free.

[GillsMan]

lets say contractor lives in north london and client is based in city or south part of london, in this case is it acceptable to rent a secondary acomudation ?
is there limit distance wise ?

I don't know what HMRC's stance is, but I would imagine you'd have a hard time justifying that to yourself, never mind to a third party. North London to South London is not a significant journey in my book and speaking as a Sarf Landoner myself.

Think you'd be taking the mick to try to put that one through personally.

[Clare@InTouch]

You need to be able to show it's too much to travel to daily, and that varies for different people. HMRC would also look at any other factors that may be influencing your decision - if you're renting a second place and it just happens to be closer to your girlfriend and all the clubs you like to frequent at night then it's less likely to be seen as "business" related!

[Maslins]

...if you're renting a second place and it just happens to be closer to your girlfriend and all the clubs you like to frequent at night then it's less likely to be seen as "business" related!

This.

Why are you asking? The question to yourself (completely forgetting taxes) should be "does it make more sense both in terms of time and cost to commute daily vs pay for accommodation nearer the client". That should make the decision for you. Provided your decision isn't swayed significantly by personal things like Clare suggests, HMRC should be fine with your own logical decision.

It does baffle me how much people worry about whether "an expense" qualifies for tax relief. Barring a few niche situations like business entertaining, the basic question should be to disregard tax and ask yourself if you need it for the business. If yes, 99% of the time HMRC will support your decision and give you tax relief. If no, then it's not a business expense so you won't get tax relief.

[ASB]

I guess that things like working hours could form a large part of the decision. Starting or finishing at silly o clock could be a big factor.

Equally if your home happened to be a flatshare with some mates in north london I would imagine a tough time of convincing hmit of the necessisty of alternative accommodation to service said client under any circumstances.