Q. The sales representative for my company leaves home early in the morning for a two-day business trip that includes an overnight stay. What can the company pay him as a daily allowance if he does not produce any receipts?
A. By the end of day 1 the sales rep will have been traveling on business for more than 15 hours and will also be away from the office at 8 pm. He can thus be paid a tax-free meal allowance for that day totaling £25. However, the sales rep does need to provide evidence of their expenditure on food and drink during that trip. He can also be paid a tax-free £5 allowance for incidental expenses as he is away overnight and doesn’t need to produce a receipt for that.
Q. Myself and my husband are both employed by the same company, we work from home, but our employer didn’t pay us the £6 per week working from home allowance. We also jointly own a let property. Can we claim the home working allowance against our salaries and also against our property rental income?
A. If you are required to work from home under your employment contracts but you aren’t paid the working from home allowance, you can claim £6 per week each as a deductible expense on your tax returns. You can’t claim a similar deduction from your rental income, as that deduction is only relevant to employment income.
Q. I work through my own company which pays me a salary and dividends, but I’m confused as to whether I should classify myself as employed or self-employed.
A. From a tax point of view, and legally, you are an employee of your own company, so you are employed. However, if you are applying for a loan or a mortgage the lender may treat you as “self-employed” as you are in control of your own income.