Permanent Workplace Explained and How It Impacts Travel Expense Claims
Travel expenses look simple until one phrase gets in the way: permanent workplace. If a journey is treated as ordinary commuting, it is not tax deductible. If it is business travel to a temporary workplace, it may qualify for reimbursement or tax relief.
That distinction matters more than many employees realise. Recent tax cases have shown that HMRC and the tribunals will look closely at where duties are really carried out, how often a place is attended, and whether the travel is genuinely part of the job rather than part of getting to work.
This guide explains how the rules work, what counts as a permanent workplace, and how that affects travel expense claims in the UK.
The basic tax rule for employee travel expenses
Employees often incur costs while doing their job. An employer may reimburse those costs, or if they do not, the employee may be able to claim tax relief from HMRC.
Travel is one of the most common employment expenses, but the rules are not as simple as “work-related travel is deductible”.
Broadly, employee travel costs fall into three groups:
Ordinary commuting
Travel between home and a permanent workplace. This is not tax deductible.
Business travel
Travel that an employee must undertake in the performance of their duties. This is usually deductible.
Travel to a temporary workplace
Travel to a workplace attended for a limited duration or for a temporary purpose. This may be deductible, subject to specific rules.
The key rule is this:
Travel between an employee’s home and their permanent workplace is ordinary commuting. It is not tax deductible, even if the employee has no practical choice but to make the journey.
This applies whether the employee travels by car, train, bus, bicycle, taxi, or another method. The cost may feel like a work cost, but for tax purposes it is usually treated as a personal cost of getting to work.
This article is for general information only. Employment tax rules can be fact-specific, so personalised advice may be needed before making or changing a claim.
What is a permanent workplace?
HMRC guidance states that a workplace is permanent if the employee attends it regularly for the performance of the duties of the employment.
That sounds straightforward for many employees. If someone works at the same office, shop, depot, school, hospital, or factory each week, that place will usually be their permanent workplace.
The test is not based only on what a contract says. HMRC can look at the reality of the working pattern. A place may be a permanent workplace even if:
the employee does not attend every day
the employee works from home part of the week
the employee’s contract uses flexible wording
the employee spends time at other sites as well
the attendance is part-time but regular
For example, an employee works from home on Mondays and attends the same workplace from Tuesday to Friday. That workplace is likely to be permanent. The four weekly journeys to and from that location are ordinary commuting.
A permanent workplace can also exist where an employee has more than one regular place of work. If someone regularly works at two locations as part of their normal role, both places may be permanent workplaces.
A simple example of ordinary commuting
Take an employee who lives 10 miles from their usual workplace.
They work there four days a week and work from home on the fifth day. They drive to the workplace and back on each of those four days.
Their weekly travel is:
Journey | Miles |
Home to workplace | 10 |
Workplace to home | 10 |
Daily total | 20 |
Four days per week | 80 |
Those 80 miles are not tax deductible. The travel is between home and a permanent workplace, so it is ordinary commuting.
It does not matter that the employee needs to make the journey to earn their salary. Most commuting is necessary in that practical sense. For tax purposes, that is not enough.
It also does not usually matter that the employee works from home one day a week. Hybrid working does not automatically turn the office, depot, or other regular site into a temporary workplace.
When travel to another site may be deductible
Now change the facts.
One week, the employer asks the same employee to visit another site for two days to help train a new member of staff.
The temporary site is:
30 miles from the employee’s home
25 miles from the employee’s normal workplace
This second site is not part of the employee’s usual weekly working pattern. The employee attends for a temporary purpose and for a short period. On those facts, the site is likely to be a temporary workplace.
That means the travel may qualify as business travel.
In practice, the amount claimed may be restricted depending on the employer’s expenses policy and the tax rules that apply to the journey. A common approach is to claim the lower of:
the distance from home to the temporary workplace
the distance from the permanent workplace to the temporary workplace
In this example, that would be 25 miles each way, rather than 30 miles each way.
The important point is not just the mileage. The reason for the journey has changed. The employee is not travelling to their normal workplace. They are travelling to a site attended for a limited, temporary work purpose.
What makes a workplace temporary?
A temporary workplace is usually a place that an employee attends to perform duties for a limited duration or for a temporary purpose.
Common examples include:
visiting a client site for a short assignment
attending a different branch to cover staff absence
going to a training location for a few days
working at a project site for a defined period
travelling to inspect premises or equipment
The word “temporary” does not simply mean “not my main office”. A site can become permanent if the attendance is regular, expected, and part of the employee’s ongoing role.
HMRC will look at the overall facts, including:
how often the employee attends
how long the arrangement is expected to last
whether the site forms part of the normal duties
whether attendance is for a specific short-term task
whether the employee has a continuing role at the location
A one-off visit is usually easier to classify. Repeated attendance over months or years needs more care.
The 24-month rule and why it matters
One of the best-known rules is the 24-month rule.
A workplace will not normally be treated as temporary if the employee attends it, or expects to attend it, for a period of continuous work lasting more than 24 months.
There is also a broad 40% test. If an employee spends 40% or more of their working time at a site, and expects to do so for more than 24 months, that site is likely to be treated as permanent.
The expectation matters. If an employee is sent to a site for an assignment expected to last 30 months, the workplace may be permanent from the start. They cannot usually claim tax relief for the first 24 months just because that period has not yet passed.
By contrast, if an employee is sent to a project expected to last 12 months, the site may be temporary. If the project is later extended beyond 24 months, the tax treatment may change from the point when the longer attendance becomes expected.
This is one of the areas where records matter. Emails, assignment letters, project documents, and changes to working arrangements may all help show what was expected and when.
What recent case law tells us about permanent workplaces
Recent case law has not replaced the statutory rules, but it has reinforced a practical point: labels are not decisive.
Tribunals tend to look at the real working pattern. If an employee says a site is temporary, the evidence must support that. If attendance is regular and forms part of the normal job, the site may be treated as permanent even where the employee also works elsewhere.
Older and more recent cases on travel expenses show recurring themes:
Regular attendance can point towards a permanent workplace.
A home office does not automatically make travel from home deductible.
Working at more than one location does not automatically make each location temporary.
The purpose and duration of the attendance matter.
Contract wording helps, but facts carry more weight.
This can affect employees who work across multiple sites, hybrid workers, consultants, healthcare professionals, engineers, sales staff, and workers assigned to projects.
For example, if an employee regularly attends the same regional site every week to perform core duties, HMRC may argue that the site is a permanent workplace. Describing it as a “client visit” or “field work” will not settle the issue if the pattern looks permanent.
Equally, if someone genuinely travels to many different places and no single site forms a regular base, the position may be different. Some roles are genuinely itinerant, meaning the travel is part of the job itself.
Home working does not always change the answer
Hybrid working has made this issue harder.
Many employees now work from home for part of the week. Some assume this means home has become their workplace and travel to the office is a business journey. That assumption is often wrong.
If an employee chooses to work from home for convenience, while still having a regular workplace they must attend, travel to that regular workplace will usually remain ordinary commuting.
Home is more likely to be treated as a workplace where the employee must work there as part of the job and performs substantive duties there. Even then, travel from home to another workplace is not automatically deductible. The permanent workplace rules still need to be applied.
The difference can be subtle.
Scenario | Likely treatment |
Employee works from home one day a week by choice and attends the same office four days a week | Office is likely to be a permanent workplace |
Employee has no employer-provided workplace and travels directly to different sites each day | Travel may be business travel, depending on the facts |
Employee is contractually based at home but regularly attends the same site to perform core duties | That site may still be a permanent workplace |
Employee visits a different site for a short, specific task | Site may be temporary |
The label “home-based” is useful evidence, but it is not the whole answer.
What employees should check before claiming travel expenses
Before claiming travel expenses, it helps to work through a short checklist.
Ask:
Where am I travelling from and to?
Identify the actual journey. HMRC looks at specific journeys, not just the overall job.
Do I attend the destination regularly?
Regular attendance may indicate a permanent workplace.
Am I going there to perform my normal duties?
If yes, the workplace may be permanent, especially if attendance is ongoing.
Is the visit for a temporary task or limited period?
A short-term assignment or one-off visit may support a claim.
How long am I expected to attend?
Consider the 24-month rule and whether the expectation has changed.
Does my employer’s expenses policy match the tax rules?
An employer may set its own policy, but tax relief depends on the legislation and HMRC guidance.
Do I have evidence?
Keep mileage logs, receipts, assignment instructions, rotas, diary entries, and emails.
Claims are easier to support when the records show why the journey happened, not just how far it was.
Reimbursement and tax relief are not the same thing
There is a difference between an employer reimbursing an expense and HMRC allowing tax relief.
An employer may choose to reimburse certain mileage or travel costs under its own policy. If the journey qualifies for tax-free reimbursement, there is usually no extra tax charge for the employee.
If the employer does not reimburse the cost, the employee may be able to claim tax relief from HMRC, but only if the journey qualifies under the tax rules.
Tax relief does not repay the full cost of the travel. It reduces the employee’s taxable income by the allowable amount. The value of the claim depends on the employee’s tax rate.
For car mileage, approved mileage allowance payment rates may apply. For public transport, the actual cost may be relevant. The exact treatment depends on the facts and the type of travel.
The key takeaway
The phrase permanent workplace is central to UK employee travel expense claims. If a journey is ordinary commuting, it is not tax deductible. If it is travel to a temporary workplace, or travel that forms part of the duties themselves, relief may be available.
The practical question is not just “Did I travel for work?” It is “Was I travelling to a place that counts as my permanent workplace?”
Recent case law reinforces that HMRC and tribunals will look beyond labels. Regular attendance, the real duties performed, the expected duration, and the working pattern all matter.
If your work pattern has changed, especially because of hybrid working, multiple sites, or long assignments, review your travel claims carefully. The right answer can save tax, but the wrong claim can create problems later.
Contact S K Punia Accountants LLP today for expert guidance.
📞 07809-568-192✉️ info@skaccountant.co.uk
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