Nichola Ross Martin, of the finds that there may be such a thing as a tax-free lunch...
HMRC is now on some of the technical aspects of legislating for its Extra Statutory Concessions. Those advising unincorporated business will note that included in the list is one under the heading of Travel and subsistence for self-employed traders This concession is based on a statement made back in 1976 by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury: "In practice, a self-employed person may be allowed a deduction for modest expenditure on meals consumed in the course of a travelling occupation or an occasional business journey outside the normal pattern…” HMRC incorporated this into its Business Income Manual by conceding that “Accommodation and subsistence costs may be deductible if the trade is by its nature itinerant or the business journey is outside the trader's normal pattern of travel.” Those who have tried to make a claim for subsistence over the years have all found their attempts thwarted by the leading case on lunching, Caillebotte v Quinn, 50 TC 222 [1975]. It was found that "... a Sch D taxpayer must eat to live not eat to work.” As Mr Caillebotte was a manual site worker, a generation of manual itinerant traders have been denied claims for the cost of food and drink, whilst able nevertheless to make valid claims for business travel. HMRC did allow claims in limited circumstances but generally only in connection with business journeys that involved an overnight stay. The proposed new legislation may (subject to any adjustments) ensure that claims for food and drink will now be allowed when travel is allowable for business purposes. Nichola comments, "This balances the equation to some extent by putting the self-employed, at last on a similar footing as employees, who have always been able to claim subsistence in conjunction with business travel. It also has the potential to open the doors for thousands of pounds of claims which were never possible before, as previously blocked by the case law in Caillibotte It may amount to a big tax break for all sorts of self-employed people when you consider the how much is spent on subsistence at work. It will apply not only to irregular site workers but those engaged in a huge variety other trades, professions and vocations where travel expenses are incurred and claimed for tax." The proposed legislation: Expenses incurred by traders on food and drink Explanation
Permits a deduction from the profits of a trade in respect of modest subsistence costs associated with travel, provided the travel expenses are incurred, or would otherwise have been allowable if so incurred, wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade.
Nichola Ross Martin is an editor with the 's Tax, Private Client and Share Incentives Teams, providing legal and tax know-how for business and its advisers. She can be contacted on nichola.rossmartin@practicallaw.com