Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003

240 Incidental overnight expenses and benefits

(1) No liability to income tax arises in respect of a sum if or to the extent that it is paid wholly and exclusively for the purpose of paying or reimbursing expenses which—

(a) are incidental to the employee’s absence from the place where the employee normally lives,

(b) relate to a continuous period of such absence in relation to which the overnight stay conditions are met (a “qualifying period”), and

(c) would not be deductible under Part 5 if the employee incurred and paid them and Chapter 2 of this Part (mileage allowances and passenger payments) did not apply.

(2) No liability to income tax arises by virtue of Chapter 10 of Part 3 (taxable benefits: residual liability to charge) in respect of a benefit provided for an employee if—

(a) its provision is incidental to such an absence during a qualifying period, and

(b) no amount would be deductible in respect of it under Part 5.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2) are subject to section 241 (incidental overnight expenses and benefits: overall exemption limit).

(4) The overnight stay conditions are that—

(a) the employee is obliged to stay away from the place where the employee normally lives throughout the period,

(b) the period includes at least one overnight stay away from that place, and

(c) each such overnight stay during the period is at a place the expenses of travelling to which meet condition A or B.

(5) Condition A is that the expenses are deductible under Part 5 (otherwise than under any of the excepted foreign travel provisions) or would be if the employee incurred and paid them and Chapter 2 of this Part did not apply.

(6) Condition B is that the expenses are within section 250 or 255 (exemption of work-related and individual learning account training provision) or would be if the employer paid or reimbursed them.

(7) In this section “excepted foreign travel provisions” means—

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

(b) section 374 (non-domiciled employee’s spouse’s or child’s travel costs and expenses where duties performed in UK), and

(c) section 376 (foreign accommodation and subsistence costs and expenses (overseas employments)).