Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003

Travel costs and expenses where duties performed abroad

370 Travel costs and expenses where duties performed abroad: employee’s travel

(1) A deduction is allowed from earnings which are taxable earnings under section 15 or 21 (earnings for year when employee resident and ordinarily resident in UK) if—

(a) the earnings include an amount in respect of—

(i) the provision of travel facilities for a journey made by the employee, or

(ii) the reimbursement of expenses incurred by the employee on such a journey, and

(b) the circumstances fall within Case A, B or C.

(2) The deduction is equal to the included amount.

(3) Case A is where—

(a) the employee is absent from the United Kingdom wholly and exclusively for the purpose of performing the duties of one or more employments,

(b) the duties concerned can only be performed outside the United Kingdom, and

(c) the journey is—

(i) a journey from a place outside the United Kingdom where such duties are performed to a place in the United Kingdom, or

(ii) a return journey following such a journey.

(4) Case B is where—

(a) the duties of the employment are performed partly outside the United Kingdom,

(b) those duties are not performed on a vessel,

(c) the journey is between a place in the United Kingdom and a place outside the United Kingdom where duties of the employment are performed,

(d) the duties performed outside the United Kingdom can only be performed there, and

(e) the journey is made wholly and exclusively for the purpose of performing them or returning after performing them.

(5) Case C is where—

(a) the duties of the employment are performed partly outside the United Kingdom,

(b) those duties are performed on a vessel,

(c) the journey is between a place in the United Kingdom and a place outside the United Kingdom where duties of the employment are performed,

(d) the duties performed outside the United Kingdom can only be performed there, and

(e) the journey is made wholly and exclusively for the purpose of performing those duties, or those duties and other duties of the employment, or returning after performing them.

371 Travel costs and expenses where duties performed abroad: visiting spouse’s or child’s travel

(1) A deduction is allowed from earnings which are taxable earnings under section 15 or 21 (earnings for year when employee resident and ordinarily resident in UK) if—

(a) the earnings include an amount in respect of—

(i) the provision of travel facilities for a journey made by the employee’s spouse or child, or

(ii) the reimbursement of expenses incurred by the employee on such a journey, and

(b) conditions A to C are met.

(2) The deduction is equal to the included amount.

(3) Condition A is that the employee is absent from the United Kingdom for a continuous period of at least 60 days for the purpose of performing the duties of one or more employments.

(4) Condition B is that the journey is between a place in the United Kingdom and a place outside the United Kingdom where such duties are performed.

(5) Condition C is that the employee’s spouse or child is—

(a) accompanying the employee at the beginning of the period of absence,

(b) visiting the employee during that period, or

(c) returning to a place in the United Kingdom after so accompanying or visiting the employee.

(6) A deduction is not allowed under this section for more than two outward and two return journeys by the same person in a tax year.

(7) In this section “child” includes a stepchild and an illegitimate child, but not a person who is 18 or over at the beginning of the outward journey.

372 Where seafarers' duties are performed

For the purposes of—

(a) section 370 (employee’s travel costs and expenses where duties performed abroad), and

(b) section 371 (visiting spouse’s or child’s travel costs and expenses where duties performed abroad),

whether duties performed on a vessel are performed in or outside the United Kingdom is determined without regard to section 40(2) (certain duties treated as performed in UK).