If I drive directly past my usual place of work to visit a client, am I able to claim business mileage expenses from home to client or can I only claim the business mileage expenses from place of work to client? What if I drive in the direction of work but do not drive directly past i.e. via the motorway? I am currently having this discussion with a colleague but I cannot seem to find an answer or any examples on the HRMC website.
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There certainly used to be guidance re this back in days of yore when car BIKs were calculated taking into account business mileage, in fact I vaguely remember being involved in a HMRC enquiry in the early 1990s which touched on the point.
You would only claim the extra mileage from your work to the client and not from your home to the client if your initial journey does not deviate much.
Are we talking about tax relief for a self employed person? (Answer as per Rammstein1) An employee claim from an employer? (Answer depends on the employer-employee agreement) Something else?
Sounds like you need to get an expenses policy in place. I'm not aware that there's a right or wrong answer, but it would be sensible I suggest that you treat your employees fairly - a policy would help with that.
I stand to be corrected on this one but...
When I was a fresh-faced, naïve youngster with an optimistic outlook on life (the 1980s), the policy of the firm I worked for was the lower of A: [work to client], or B: [home to client] less [home to work]. That made perfect sense to me, and still does, and I think was in line with the Revenue guidance of the day.
That guidance changed around the millennium when a "simplification" was introduced as it was clearly mind-blowingly complex. So now HMRC guidance allows you to claim home to client regardless of the fact you're driving straight past work which is, frankly, bonkers.
What you can claim, as others have said, depends on the employer's policy. For a tax angle, have a look at 3.48 and 3.49 in HMRC's Employee Travel 490.
Edit: Crossed with adam.arca's post. It's actually even more unexpected as a brief stop at work is permitted and you can still claim the whole journey.