What is EIM 32160?
EIM 32160 concerns allowable travel expenses for taxpayers who work out of a base or depot.
What kind of workplace do I have temporary or permanent?
HMRC has very specific definitions for both types of workplaces. If you work from a depot or base, it can seem even more confusing.
You need to go to this workplace for instructions or vehicles and equipment; but you do not necessarily spend your working days there. It also may not be the only place where you receive work instructions.
The distinction is important because it forms the basis of whether you are eligible to claim for travel expenses.
A depot or base is regarded as a ‘permanent’ workplace if:
- You must go there on a regular basis
- You go to the base or depot because you work at this location, or you receive your instructions for work there
A base or depot could be regarded as a ‘temporary’ workplace if the other points of definition are met. For example, the work location is for a ‘limited duration’ of up to 24 months, or for ‘temporary purpose’ such as a one-off meeting.
Examples:
- A plumber‘s commute to the depot to get their daily job list is not allowable for travel expenses. Even though they may receive alterations to these instructions while they are out and about on jobs, this is still considered to be a permanent workplace as the purpose of their attendance there is to get their instructions.
- A bus driver’s journey to the depot to collect their bus at the start of each shift is not allowable for travel expenses. In this instance, the depot is a permanent workplace.
- An accountancy consultant who constantly travels between company offices and clients’ locations would be able to claim their full travel expenses. They do not regularly go to one workplace in order to receive work instructions, they get them at various times during travel, in company offices or while working in a client’s premises. There is no fixed place where that is their only purpose of attending. Therefore they are considered to have a number of ‘temporary’ workplaces.
- As a builder working at different sites, this taxpayer is entitled to claim full travel expenses for their journeys between home and each work site. They get most of their work instructions by phone and occasionally when they go into the company’s base for materials – but then this is not their sole reason for attending the premises. Even if they go to the same site every day for weeks, as long as the job does not run over the 24 month point, it is regarded as a temporary workplace.
Get a mileage tax refund directly from HMRC
Don’t miss out on your mileage tax rebate. Just get online and apply directly to HMRC. You need to fill in either a P87 form or a self assessment tax return for claims worth £2500 or more.
Then HMRC reviews your application, works out how much income tax rebate you’re owed, and pays it back to you.
The processing time varies, depending on HMRC’s own timescales. Make sure you’ve got your travel log and other mileage records ready (just in case HMRC needs to check any details).
