19 April 2024
With many workplaces offering some sort of hybrid or flexible working arrangements now, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) undoubtedly get a lot of queries about what tax reliefs are available to such workers.
The guidance for ‘Ordinary commuting and private travel’ has been updated to include an example of where an employee has a choice to work from home or in the office. Section 3.39 below has been added to the guidance and reads:
Modern information and communications technology has allowed many more employees to work from home on a flexible or hybrid basis. Under such arrangements, the employee will have a base office and journeys from home to that location will be ordinary commuting.
Example 42 — employees who work at home
Elliot’s employer has decided to offer hybrid working to its employees. This allows employees to mix working at home with working in the Bristol office. This flexible way of working is voluntary for Elliot, so he is not required to work from home as part of his role.
Elliot decides to split his time between working at home and in the Bristol office. Elliot’s office will remain his permanent workplace when he begins to work in a hybrid way. This means Elliot cannot claim tax relief on journeys made from his home to the office because such journeys are ordinary commuting.
This is the first addition to the guidance since it was published in 2014.
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