Expense guidelines for teachers
It is important to state up front, that any expenses you claim MUST be legitimate. HMRC state that “expenses must be incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of your duties”. As such, the HMRC can at any time review your expenses and if they are deemed not to have been incurred in the performance of your work duties then you are liable at best for additional tax, and possibly charged with fraud.
That’s why working through Zeva you are in safe hands. To help protect you Zeva will require original receipts for all expense claims, including fuel receipts for mileage. Any expenses that arrive without original receipts will be rejected as well any expenses that do not meet the HMRC guidelines.
Please note, tax deductible expenses may only be claimed for travel to and from site and costs for accommodation/subsistence whilst there, when incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of your duties provided.
Travel expenses
• You will only get tax relief where travel expenses are necessarily incurred on traveling in the performance of your duties of employment.
• You CANNOT claim travel between your home and a place that is NOT your workplace.
• You CANNOT travel between two places, neither of which is your workplace.
• There is NO tax relief for a private journey between home and the supermarket or between the supermarket and the pub.
You may only claim expenses where:
• You are at a site for less than 24 months.
• During your time spent at that site you expect that you will go on to work at another site after finishing at the current site.
In turn you may NOT claim your travel expenses:
• Where you are working your notice period or it is reasonable to assume that you are going to terminate your employment at the completion of work on site.
• From the date you are told or you know that the last day on the site has been extended, and consequently, the total time you spend on that site will be more than 24 months.
• Where you go on to work at another site which is located within the vicinity of your previous site and there is no significant change in costs of travel between home to site 1 and home to site 2; and the total time spent on the two sites is more than 24 months.
If you are, at any time unsure of what you CAN and CANNOT claim you must notify Zeva immediately.
Mileage: Your claim for mileage will be calculated based on the following Inland Revenue’s Authorised Mileage Rates:
• Mileage allowance for cars and vans is paid at a higher rate of 40p per mile for the first 10,000 miles traveled during the tax year and at a lower rate of 25p per mile above 10,000 miles
• A lower rate of mileage allowance is paid for motorcycles, currently 24p per mile
• Mileage allowance covers license and insurance, servicing, tyres, spare parts etc., as well as fuel
• We may ask for a copy of your registration document when you claim mileage as proof of ownership.
• A rate of 20p per mile is paid for bicycles
When completing your expenses claim form write the destination and reason for journey, dates of travel and car details on each form.
You must also provide VAT receipts for the fuel used. These receipts should be sufficient to cover the number of miles you claim (as a guide, you’ll need receipts for about £13 for every 100 miles claimed). The receipt should be dated not more than a month before the date traveled. All petrol stations provide VAT receipts if you ask for them.
Travel: Other travel costs that can usually be claimed (with receipts) are: Ferry costs, Bus Tickets, Taxi Fares, Tube and Train Tickets, Parking Costs, Plane Tickets, Toll Charges, Congestion Charges.
Meals: If you are at work for over 5 hours you will be able to claim for up to £7 of receipted meals, if you are at work for over 10 hours you will be able to claim up to £15 of meals, again to be backed up by receipts. All the receipts you send in must show individual items so we can total up the food you have bought. You will only receive the amount you have spent, so if you were at work for over 5 hours and spent £3.50 on lunch, you would only receive £3.50 not £7.
Accommodation: You can claim for accommodation if you are staying away from your normal permanent address in the course of your work. We must have a receipt that includes the hotel/B&B’s name, address and telephone number (preferably a VAT-registered business with the receipt supplied on headed paper). You are entitled to accommodation costs, plus an additional £5.00 per night (for personal incidental expenses related to staying away from home), and up to £20.00 per day can be claimed in respect of meals, but receipts must be provided.
We can process your claim for personal incidental expenses on sight of the accommodation receipts, but if you are claiming for meals, you need to provide itemised receipts for each meal.
Tools/Clothing: You may claim for industrial tools that are solely for your use at work and clothing that relates to safety wear (such as fluorescent jackets and steel toe-cap boots). VAT receipts must be included for these claims. You may also claim for the cost of laundering protective clothing. You also need to provide receipts for these.
Telephone (fixed line or mobile): You can only claim for business calls, not private calls or rental. Highlight each business call on your itemised bill and include the original bill (NOT a photocopy) when you send us your expense claim. If you use a pay-as-you-go mobile phone and pay top-ups, you must still provide an itemised bill if you wish to claim for business calls.
Professional subscriptions: If you belong to a professional body relating to your job, you may find that fees and subscriptions are allowable expenses. Check if yours is allowable on HMRC’s website at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/list3/list3.htm
Other expenses: If there are other expenses to which you think you might be entitled, we will not be able to process them, but you can contact HMRC direct about this at Ocean House, 87-89 London Road, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN37 6AD. Tel: 01273 225260.
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Expenses Claim Form
