Employee Expense Claim Guidelines
Travel
Expenses for travelling to a temporary workplace can be claimed. If the journey is by public transport or taxi then a relevant receipt must be attached. In the event that your personal vehicle is used then the company will reimburse you in line with the HMRC Approved Mileage Rates, and you simply need to log the details of the journey (including start and finish postcodes) and enter your car engine size. We would ask that you forward your VAT fuel receipts at the end of each month. We do not require these receipts to make payment of your mileage claim.
Car Parking and Toll Charges incurred on company business can be claimed. Receipts must be provided to validate all parking costs. Toll receipts must be provided where possible.
Accommodation & Meals
Accommodation cost whether B&B, Hotel or Rented is allowable if necessary due to your temporary workplace. The cost of an evening meal is also allowable and we have agreed with HMRC a nightly subsistence allowance to cover this type of expenditure. We would always recommend that you retain all receipts relating to accommodation and meal costs.
24 Month Rule
Before your travel, subsistence and mileage claims will be approved, your place of work must meet the criteria of a temporary workplace. If you are travelling from home to a temporary place of work, this is subject to the '24 month rule'. This states that travel from home to work is only allowable as a tax-deductible expense for as long as you believe your contract will not exceed 24 months. If you only work on a single assignment (regardless of the length of that assignment), without the expectation that there will be further assignments, your workplace will be regarded as permanent for these expense types and they will not be allowable. Where you fall outside the '24 month rule', then travel between your home, or any other place that is not a workplace, is not allowable.
Expense Dispensations
We have an agreement with HMRC that allows Black Diamond to pay scale rates to its employees without the need for receipts.
These scale rates covered are:
1. Day Subsistence – meal allowance
2. Night Subsistence – hotel, accommodation & meals allowance
Specific details of the scales rates that we can offer are available on request, feel free to give the office a call on 01942 679997.
NB: If you are claiming the dispensation amount there is no need to provide receipts to enable us to process your payment. We do strongly recommend that you retain copies of all receipts for your personal records.
3. Travel
Business Mileage
Business miles incurred in private car up to the maximum rates, as supplied by HMRC each year.
| Up to 10,000 miles | £0.45 |
| Over 10,000 miles | £0.25 |
Business miles incurred via motor cycle and/or bicycle.
| Motor Cycle | £0.24 |
| Bicycle | £0.20 |
Passenger Payments – Cars and Vans
Business miles incurred for carrying fellow Black Diamond employees in a car or van on business journeys can be claimed at the rate of:
| Per passenger per mile | £0.05 |
On completion of mileage log please provide name of passenger(s) and journey(s) you are providing to the passenger(s).
Incidental Overnight Expenses
Small out of pocket expenditure when staying away from home such as cleaning, daily newspapers and telephone calls home are allowable. No receipts are necessary and they must be claimed at the same time as claiming for accommodation. The rates differ depending upon whether your assignment is in the UK or overseas as follows:-
| UK Assignment | £5.00 per night |
| Overseas Assignment | £10.00 per night |
Safety Equipment, Tools, Medical, Training & Membership fees for Professional Institutions
Safety Clothing:- Only specialist and / or safety clothing and equipment can be claimed upon the production of receipts.
Tools:- Hand tools for manual workers are allowable expenses that can be claimed upon the production of receipts.
Medical:- There is no reporting requirement and no tax or NIC to pay for periodic medical checks or health screening that take place no more than once per year. A full receipt must be provided.
Training:- Only certain types of training are tax deductible, this will be assessed on an individual basis. For training to qualify as tax deductible it has to be a necessity for you to continue your work for the company. If the training is to gain a new skill separate to the job currently being undertaken then it will be treated as progress to your career and not a necessity to continue the current job role. This is therefore not tax deductible. If the training is to simply update existing skills the expense may be allowable.
Membership Fees for Professional Institutions:- Those that are necessary for you to gain and maintain your professional standing are allowable, e.g., to professional bodies. These again would need to be receipted. For a list of allowable professional subscriptions please visit www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/list3.pdf
Telephone Calls
The cost of business calls on your private telecommunication system may be claimed (this includes mobiles). Itemised invoices will be required with the business calls appropriately identified. Where a separate telecommunication system is used exclusively for business purposes then the full cost of this may be claimed. Line rental cannot be claimed.
Annual Dispensation Review
In order to keep our dispensations up to date we may require you to take part in our annual dispensation review. Once a year we select at random 10% of our payroll, we request that you support your expense claims for a 4 week period by producing your receipts. You will be notified well in advance if you are required to take part in the dispensation check.
Any expenditure which is not incurred in accordance with the company's expense guidelines will not be refunded. Expense amounts must be wholly, exclusively and necessary for the performance of your duties. Expenses over a certain amount may not necessarily be refunded.
If you have any questions on this please feel free to give us a call on 01942 679997 or email: enquiries@blackdiamondumbrella.co.uk
