GUIDE TO EXPENSES BUSINESS EXPENSES - AN OVERVIEW i4 Pay Partners Limited 71-75 Shelton Street Covent Garden London WC2H 9JQ «dummy» We have put this Guide together in line with all current HMRC guidelines to ensure that you remain compliant while at the same time making sure you are claiming all the expenses to which you are entitled. Please remember that allowable mileage expense claims are not reimbursed they are used to reduce your taxable income. To ensure you get the most out of working for us it is important that you fully understand the rules and regulations involved in claiming expenses. A business expense is a cost that has been incurred wholly, necessarily and exclusively whilst performing your business duties. This guide will give you an overview of the types of expenses you can claim and how to claim them. HOW THIS GUIDE IS ARRANGED: PAGE 1. MILEAGE 2 2. TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE 2 2.1 TRAIN, TUBE, BUS, TAXI, AIR, FERRY 2 2.2 SUBSISTENCE 2 2.3 ACCOMMODATION 3 3. OTHER EXPENSES 3 3.1 PROFESSIONAL FEES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS 3 3.2 FIXED LINE AND MOBILE PHONE CALLS 3 3.3 OFFICE EQUIPMENT, STATIONERY AND SUNDRIES 4 3.4 TRAINING AND EDUCATION 4 3.5 PARKING CHARGES, ROAD AND BRIDGE TOLLS 4 3.6 CONGESTION CHARGES 4 3.7 CAR HIRE 4 3.8 OTHER 4 4. WHAT YOU CANNOT CLAIM 4 5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KEEP 5 6. OUR EXPENSE RULES 5 7. HOW WE PROCESS YOUR EXPENSE CLAIMS 5 8. KEEPING A LOG OF YOUR EXPENSES 5 9. EXPENSE CLAIM FORMS AND EXPENSE LOGS 6 10. NON-UK NATIONALS 6 11. SUBMITTING EXPENSES ON-LINE 6 Expense Vitals You cannot claim for expenses that you have not incurred You must obtain and keep receipts for all expenses as these will be required should you wish to submit a P87 claim at the end of the tax year. You are not required to send original or copy receipts to us with your expense claim sheets. You must complete our mileage claim form when submitting your mileage expenses and you should keep a copy for your records. General expense and mileage claim forms are available from your on-line portal Guide to Expenses Page 1 of 7
1. MILEAGE Mileage can only be claimed if you are not working under Supervision, Direction or Control, or if you are traveling between different work sites within your normal day s work and your contract is for less than 24 months. We may ask you to provide proof of ownership of a vehicle before accepting mileage claims. Log each business journey. It is important to keep a record of your total business mileage we require you to use of our Mileage Claim Forms for this purpose. The amount per mile in the current tax year is: MOTOR CAR MOTOR BIKE BICYCLE Less than 10,000 miles 45p per mile 24p per mile 20p per mile More than 10,000 miles 25p per mile 24p per mile 20p per mile You must complete your Mileage Claim Form and submit it to us for all claims and a copy should be kept for your records. When making your first claim, you will need to let us know of any business mileage claimed in a previous employment in the current tax year. 2. TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE From the 6 th April 2016 travel (other than mileage) and subsistence (T&S) related expenses for your ordinary commuting cannot be claimed if you work under (or have the right of) supervision, direction or control (SDC) from any party in the supplier chain (end client, recruitment agency or umbrella company). Travel means any mode of transport except mileage. Subsistence means meals including breakfast, lunches and an evening meal. Ordinary commuting means the journey from your place of residence to your place of work and back again. You can still claim for work to work travel, for example, if you are working at one client site, and then you have to travel to another client site. The same rules apply for your subsistence. Employees who are not working under SDC and work from home are entitled to a tax deduction for the expense of travel to a temporary workplace (travel), as well as the cost of any necessary meals and drinks (subsistence). Please note the following: Note 1. If your time spent at a workplace exceeds 24 months, or if at the start of your contract you expect it to, then you may not claim these expenses. Note 2. Travel, other than mileage, and any related subsistence can only be claimed at the end of the financial year by submitting a Form P87 or as part of a self-assessment. Note 3. If you are not working under SDC this must be confirmed by completing and submitting our SDC Assessment Form before any such claim can be processed. If we have received and agreed this confirmation in relation to how you work then the following rules apply to your travel and subsistence claims: 2.1 TRAIN, TUBE, BUS, TAXI, AIR, FERRY Train: Make sure you ask for a receipt. A credit card voucher or the ticket itself is not sufficient. Tube: Ask for a receipt. Again, the ticket itself is not enough. Bus: The printed ticket is sufficient. Taxi: Ask for a receipt. This should be signed and dated. Air: The printed ticket is sufficient. Ferry: The printed ticket is sufficient. 2.2 SUBSISTENCE If you are entitled to claim travel to a temporary place of work then you will be able to claim subsistence which covers the cost of meals and drinks whilst working there. Subsistence can be claimed on the following basis: Guide to Expenses Page 2 of 7
BREAKFAST RATE ONE MEAL RATE TWO MEAL RATE LATE EVENING MEAL RATE When leaving home for work before 6am and purchasing breakfast you can claim up to a maximum of 5 per working day. If you regularly leave home before 6am then you would not be entitled to claim for this meal. A rate of up to 5 may be claimed when you have been away from home for a period of at least 5 hours and have incurred a cost on a meal. A rate of up to 10 may be claimed when you have been away from home for a period of at least 10 hours and have incurred a cost on a meal. A rate of up to 15 may be claimed when you have had to work later than normal, later than 8pm, and have incurred a cost on a meal which you would otherwise have had at home. Subsistence can only be claimed if you are not working under SDC, or you are travelling between client sites and your contract is for less than 24 months. Note that subsistence may not be claimed if other family members are present. Subsistence may only be claimed if there is a corresponding claim for the travel to the temporary workplace and may only be claimed if they have been incurred after setting out on your journey. You are required to obtain and keep original receipts for all your subsistence claims which must clearly show the name of the establishment you purchased from together with the date and time of purchase. These should be kept safely to support any end of year claim you may wish to submit. 2.3 ACCOMMODATION You may claim for the costs of accommodation, breakfast, lunch (if applicable) and an evening meal (except where accompanied by a spouse or relative) up to the following limits: In London, up to 95 per night Elsewhere, up to 75 per night Excluded from this are the cost of videos, newspapers and private telephone calls which are covered by the Incidental Overnight Expenses as set out below. You must always keep your accommodation receipts in a safe place. In addition to this, you may claim up to a maximum of 5 per night to cover Incidental Overnight Expenses, and no receipts are required for these. 3. OTHER EXPENSES 3.1 PROFESSIONAL FEES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions and professional fees to certain professional bodies may be claimed. You may check on www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/list3.htm. to see if your subscription is allowable. A receipt is required to be kept for any claim you may wish to make at the end of the tax year. 3.2 FIXED LINE AND MOBILE PHONE CALLS These are generally used personally and cannot be claimed. However, where you do use them for business, you must ensure you get an itemised bill and highlight any business calls. These must be genuine business calls and you must keep a record for each call proving it was for business purposes (make a note for your records and keep with each bill). You may be asked to provide evidence of this for some or all of the calls. If your name is not on the bill you will need to get a receipt (with all the required details) from the person whose name is on the bill. Mobile phone bills must be in your name. Guide to Expenses Page 3 of 7
3.3 OFFICE EQUIPMENT, STATIONERY AND SUNDRIES You cannot reclaim any items you purchase for yourself such as computers, printers etc. If you have rented any such equipment for business purposes, this may be claimed. Office consumables (paper, envelopes, printer cartridges, postage etc.) can be claimed. Ensure you keep the receipts. 3.4 TRAINING AND EDUCATION Costs relating to relevant business courses (and travel to and from them) can normally be claimed, as can course books and materials and any exam fees. To ensure that your claim is allowable you require: A receipt for the full amount of the training course The name of the company providing the training A full description of the course Your current job description 3.5 PARKING CHARGES, ROAD AND BRIDGE TOLLS You may, if not working under SDC, claim for the cost of parking, road and bridge tolls. Receipts are normally kept, however minor expenses may be claimed providing there is alternative supporting documentation to confirm that the expense was necessarily incurred. 3.6 CONGESTION CHARGES You may, if not working under SDC, claim for congestion charges, provided that they relate specifically and exclusively to your contract. Personal travel may not be claimed for under any circumstances. Receipts are required to be kept. 3.7 CAR HIRE You may, if not working under SDC, claim for the reasonable cost of your car hire charges when the expense is solely incurred for business purposes. You may also claim for the petrol used in the hire car, when it is used solely for business purposes. Mileage cannot be claimed in this instance. You must keep the original receipt. You may not claim for any speeding, parking or clamping fines. 3.8 OTHER If you have other expenses that you believe should be claimable, please call us for approval before making your claim. 4. WHAT YOU CANNOT CLAIM Expenses that you cannot claim include: Cars Clothing Personal hygiene / grooming items Child care Dry cleaning Newspapers and magazines Flights abroad The purchase of a mobile phone Guide to Expenses Page 4 of 7
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KEEP As you do not need to submit originals or copies of receipts for all your expenses it is vital that you retain all original receipts and any supporting documentation relating to these expenses as they will be required to support any end of year claim you may wish to make via a Form P87 or self-assessment. 6. OUR EXPENSE RULES 6.1 Travel and subsistence (T&S) related expenses for your ordinary commuting cannot be claimed if you work under (or have the right of) supervision, direction or control (SDC) from any party in the supplier chain (end client, recruitment agency or umbrella company). 6.2 All expense claims must be for an expense that you have incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily while performing your business duties. 6.3 You may not claim for any expenses incurred before you commenced employment with us. 6.4 We are not able to record your claim unless we have received a signed and dated Expense Claim or Mileage Claim form. 6.5 You must retain the original receipts for all expense items being claimed. 6.6 You may submit all your mileage claims via your web portal. 7. HOW WE PROCESS YOUR EXPENSE CLAIMS As soon as we receive your Expense Claim or Mileage Claim form we will check that your claims are allowable. Once they have been approved, any mileage claims will be offset immediately (assuming your mileage claims are for work done when you are not under SDC or your mileage claims are for work to work journeys) and these will be used in subsequent pay runs in order to reduce your Tax and NI liabilities. All other expenses you submit will be recorded for you and a report will be sent to you at the end of the tax year for you to submit via a Form P87 or as part of a self-assessment. If the total of your outstanding mileage claims exceeds your payroll amount, then we will apportion your claims over multiple pay runs. Help us to process your claims quickly and efficiently by: Completing the necessary details on the Expense Claim or/and Mileage Claim form. Sending in your forms correctly signed and in their original format (do not photocopy). Including all your travel and accommodation items on the Log Forms that are available from us or by downloading them from your web portal this will help you to process your expenses correctly. Logging all Mileage Claims via your web portal. 8. KEEPING A LOG OF YOUR EXPENSES Subject to Clause 6.1 above; Mileage, Travel and Accommodation expenses are allowable under the condition that you keep a detailed log of all such expenses. You must therefore: Keep details of all business journeys undertaken where you are claiming for mileage. You need to log the name of the client, the address from which and to which you travel and the distance traveled via your Mileage Claim form. Keep a detailed log of all other types of journey (such as by rail, tube, bus, taxi, air and ferries) for which you are claiming. You need to log the name of the client, the address from which and to which you travel and the cost of the trip. Keep a detailed log of all overnight accommodation where you have been away from home on business. You need to log the type of accommodation, the address where you stayed and any additional costs over and above that of the accommodation. In addition to submitting these logs with expense claims you should keep a copy in support of any claim you may wish to submit at the end of the financial year. Guide to Expenses Page 5 of 7
9. EXPENSE CLAIM FORMS AND EXPENSE LOGS Expense Claim forms and suitable Expense Log forms will have been supplied to you with your Welcome Pack. We will send fresh copies of all of these as attachments to your Expense Claim Approval email (which is sent each time an expense claim is approved by us), but if you prefer you can also download copies of these forms from the secure website portal. 10. NON-UK NATIONALS If you have just arrived in the UK, and you have not previously worked in the country, then you may be entitled to claim the following expenses: (but you must first confirm with us that you may do so). Should you qualify, all Non-UK National expenses may be submitted to us to be recorded however they can only be claimed back via a Form P87 or as part of a self-assessment at the financial year end. Travel: 10.1 The cost of journeys to and from a country outside the UK in order to perform duties of employment in the UK can be claimed where: The journey ends on or during the period of five years from date of your arrival to perform duties. You have not been in the UK for any purpose during the two years ending the day before the date of arrival OR you were not resident in the UK in either of the two tax years preceding the tax year of arrival. Your journey is from a country outside the UK (where you usually reside), to the UK to perform the duties of the current assignment OR the journey is to a country from the UK to return to that country after performing the duties in the UK 10.2 You may also claim for your spouse and/or children s travel whether they travel with you or visit you, directly from the country of permanent residence, twice a year provided you have been in the UK for a continuous period of 60 days performing the duties of employment. 10.3 Travel insurance, Freight, Excess baggage may also be claimed. Accommodation in the UK 10.4 You can claim for temporary accommodation in the UK if you continue to properly reside and pay for a main residence in another country. 10.5 If there is any element of private use within this period (such as holidays or weekends), the expense amount should be apportioned on a pro rata basis. 10.6 Originals of valid receipts and/or the rental agreement must be kept in support of any claim you may wish to make. All claims are subject to the Temporary Workplace Rule. 11. SUBMITTING EXPENSE CLAIMS ON-LINE The quickest and easiest way to submit all of your expenses is via your on-line portal. To submit your claims on-line, login to your secure on-line portal. Select the Expense claims option and then choose Submit an expense claim. You will first be asked which contract you are claiming expenses against (if you have multiple concurrent contracts you should claim the appropriate expenses against each contract). We need this information in order to verify your assignment details. Select the contract by clicking on the contract number. A page will then be displayed which resembles the manual Expense Claim Form, and everything you can claim on the manual form can be claimed on the on-line form. Guide to Expenses Page 6 of 7
How the form operates: Input boxes that are greyed out will be calculated for you when you click on the CALCULATE button. Values for mileage claims will be calculated for you based on the prevailing rates set by HMRC and your year-to-date mileage claimed. By submitting the form you automatically agree to the Declaration as shown at the bottom of the form. You need to click on the CALCULATE button before you submit the form. If everything passes the verification tests then a SUBMIT button will be displayed. You must click the SUBMIT button in order to submit the form to us. After you have submitted the form a Confirmation page will be displayed giving you any further instructions on what to do next. Even though they are simple, please follow those instructions carefully. Note: you should keep all original receipts relating to the claimed expenses. What to do with the Expense Confirmation email? When you have successfully submitted your Expense Claim form, you will receive a confirmation email at the email address you supplied us with (if you are unsure or want to check it, click on My profile. This will display the information we presently hold, including your current email address). We strongly recommend that you print or store the email safely, in case you need to refer back to it at any stage. What if you notice an error after submission? If you notice an error on the Confirmation email then you should notify us immediately. Please do not redo the expense claim unless we ask you to this may lead to delays as we try to work out which claim is correct. N.B. Please make sure you have read and understand the rules relating to the submission of mileage, travel and subsistence claims at the start of this guide. Guide to Expenses Page 7 of 7