expenses Articles

http://team@umbrella.co.ukFortunately though, no Umbrella.co.uk contractors will have to repay any claims since April 2016.

Confusion about the wording of the Finance Bill 2016 resulted in some contractors claiming for Travel and Subsistence (T&S) expenses when they shouldn’t have. An amendment to the bill has now been applied retrospectively to April, meaning that anyone who claimed for expenses incorrectly will now have to repay the money. 

The Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) has accused the government of valuing councillors over contractors, calling hypocrisy on government plans to provide travel-to-work tax relief to local councillors at the same time as talking of scrapping them for temporary workers.

At a time when the review into contractor travel and subsistence (T&S) tax-relief is ongoing, it has emerged that MPs want to award councillors a similar package of tax savings on their travel.

The government changes will exempt councillor travel expenses from income tax and National Insurance. This applies to journeys made between the councillor’s home and permanent workplace.  

New research has found that proposed changes to contractors' travel and subsistence allowances could cost them up to 20 per cent of their annual revenue. 

In July of last year the government launched a review into expenses and benefits for contractors. On 23 September 2014 they published a discussion paper outlining their case for changing the current rules on tax relief.

The government believes that travel and subsistence expenses, like travel between workplaces and the cost of a meal at a temporary workplace, are over generous and outdated. 

Budget 2015 confirmed that a review of contractors expenses and in particular travel & subsistence would take place in the summer of 2015 with potential changes being made for the tax year commencing 6^th April 2016. It proposes that Supervision, Direction and Control (SDC) will be the key factors in deciding whether a contractor is genuinely a self-employed or should in fact be treated as an employee of the end client where they are working.