Thread by @Thesecretinves2

Here is one I have been asked a lot lately

You can only claim tax relief for foreign travel paid for through your business if the trip has been wholly, exclusively and necessarily for the purpose of doing your job.

🤔

There are no exceptions to these rigid rules:

The trip must be taken wholly, exclusively and necessarily in order to do your job;
Any other related expenses claimed must be incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in order to carry out your job.

When claiming overseas travel expenses, contractors / small business must be extremely careful about claiming foreign travel expenses and related expenses through the company.

There are a number of areas that must be satisfied before doing so.

First and foremost you must be able to provide proof that the purpose of the trip was work related and have documentary evidence to prove that your trip overseas was wholly, exclusively and necessarily

for the purpose of performing your job.

Some of the documents HMRC will require in relation to such claims are listed below:

All expense receipts
Evidence of how expenses were paid
Itinerary relating to the business trip

Schedule of clients / contacts you met; when and where, and the outcome
Any contracts agreed following the meeting
The contact numbers and details of prospective clients
Email correspondence with prospective clients before and after the trip

Details of the revenue raised as a result of the overseas trip
Details of relatives and friends you met while you were on the trip
Any places you visited while on the trip beyond those related to your work

You must be able to provide the documentation listed above in order to satisfy the claim, then and only then are expenses related to foreign travel allowable

Under UK law it is illegal to claim foreign travel-related expenses without documentary proof. If HMRC investigates your claim and disallows it, you will have to pay:

The difference of the revised tax figure + interest + a penalty.

You can claim an apportioned allowance for a trip

Say you travel for work purpose but decide to stay on for a few days, as long as you pay personally for anything (hotels, food, drink, trips) from the date in which the work trip ended this is allowable.