Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 338

Travel for necessary attendance

Section 338 allows employees to deduct certain travel expenses from their earnings, provided the travel is necessary for the performance of their duties, while excluding ordinary commuting and private travel.

• Travel expenses can be deducted if the employee is obliged to incur them as part of their role and the travel is necessary for performing their duties at a particular location.
• Ordinary commuting — travel between home and a permanent workplace, or from a non-workplace to a permanent workplace — is not eligible for deduction.
• Private travel — travel between home and a non-workplace, or between two non-workplaces — is also excluded from the deduction.
• Travel that is, for practical purposes, substantially the same as ordinary commuting or private travel is likewise excluded, and this section must be read alongside section 359 which disallows deductions where mileage allowances or mileage allowance relief apply.