Home-based workers faced travel claim clampdown
Mileage claims made by thousands of home-based workers in Shropshire could go under the microscope after a recent ruling in favour of HMRC, accountants have warned.
Ian Davies, of Wellington and Dawley-based Tranter Lowe Chartered Accountants, said a tribunal ruling in January had decided that a doctor who kept an office at his home was not entitled to claim business mileage for travel from his home base to private hospitals where he held clinics.
The decision has the potential to restrict the travel expenses claimed by home workers, depending upon their circumstances, and is likely to cause many to re-examine what they claim as legitimate business mileage.
The ruling by the judge-led enquiry arrived at its decision despite the doctor arguing forcibly that his home office was a proper place of work.
The case centred on the fact that he held regular clinics at two private hospitals. HMRC took the view that travelling to them was equivalent to travelling to a regular place of work. His travel back to his home office, the authorities argued, was merely to undo the original journey and return him to his home.
Mr Davies said: “This has been something of a grey area. We all know that you can't claim mileage going to and from your regular place of work from home. Home based workers though can and do claim for journeys to client meetings and other locations they visit less frequently. In this case, the frequency of the visits to the same sites where the doctor had regular, albeit temporary use of an office, has tipped the tribunal's view towards it being seen as a regular place of work with him returning home afterwards, regardless of whether he had an office at home, and was therefore ineligible for paying business mileage.
“There is apparently a backlog of HMRC cases hanging on this outcome and it seems likely there will be an appeal from the doctor, so this is perhaps not the final outcome. It certainly does go to highlight though that business people in Shropshire should not be blasé about the mileage they think they can claim because it can have repercussions. It must be clearly for the purposes of work and not to and from the regular place of work. If in doubt, it's very important to get good, up-to-date advice!”
