Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988

193 Foreign earnings and travel expenses. U.K.

(1) M1 Where in any year of assessment—

(a) the duties of an office or employment are performed wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom; and

(b) any of those duties are performed in the course of a qualifying period (within the meaning of Schedule 12) which falls wholly or partly in that year and consists of at least 365 days;

then, in charging tax under Case I of Schedule E on the amount of the emoluments from that employment attributable to that period, or to so much of it as falls in that year of assessment, there shall be allowed a deduction equal to the whole of that amount.

Schedule 12 shall have effect for the purpose of supplementing this subsection.

(2) M2 Subsections (3) and (4) below apply where a person (“the employee”) who is resident and ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom holds an office or employment (“the overseas employment”) the duties of which are performed wholly outside the United Kingdom and the emoluments from which are not foreign emoluments.

(3) M3 For the purposes of section 198(1) there shall be treated as having been necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties of the overseas employment expenses of the employee in travelling from any place in the United Kingdom to take up the overseas employment and in travelling to any place in the United Kingdom on its termination; and if travel is partly for a purpose mentioned in this subsection and partly for another purpose this subsection applies only to such part of the expenses as is properly attributable to the former purpose.

(4) M4 Where, for the purpose of enabling the employee to perform the duties of the overseas employment—

(a) board and lodging outside the United Kingdom is provided for him and the cost of it is borne by or on behalf of his employer; or

(b) he incurs expenses out of the emoluments of the employment on such board and lodging for himself and those expenses are reimbursed by or on behalf of his employer,

there shall be allowed, in charging tax under Case I of Schedule E on the emoluments from that employment, a deduction of an amount equal to so much of that cost, or, as the case may be, those expenses as falls to be included in those emoluments.

Where board and lodging is partly for the purpose mentioned in this subsection and partly for another purpose, this subsection applies only to such part of the cost or expenses as is properly attributable to the former purpose.

(5) Subsection (6) below applies where a person resident and ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom—

(a) holds two or more offices or employments the duties of one or more of which are performed wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom; and

(b) travels from one place having performed there duties of one office or employment to another place for the purpose of performing duties of another office or employment (the emoluments from which are not foreign emoluments);

and either or both of those places is outside the United Kingdom.

(6) For the purposes of section 198(1) expenses incurred by such a person on such travel shall be treated as having been necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties which he is to perform at his destination; and if travel is partly for the purpose of performing those duties and partly for another purpose this subsection applies only to such part of the expenses as is properly attributable to the former purpose.

(7) M5 References in the Income Tax Acts (including any provision of this Act, but without prejudice to any express reference to subsection (3) above) to section 198 and to deductions allowable under sections 198, 199, 201 or 332 shall be construed as including a reference to subsection (3) above and to deductions allowable under that subsection.

Marginal Citations

M1 Source—1977 Sch.1 1, 11

M2 Source—1977 s.32(1)

M3 Source—1977 s.32(2); 1986 s.34(2)

M4 Source—1977 s.32(3)-(5)

M5 Source—1977 s.32(8)