Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 339A

Travel for necessary attendance: employment intermediaries

Section 339A restricts travel and subsistence expense deductions for workers who provide their services to clients through employment intermediaries such as umbrella companies or agencies, by treating each engagement as a separate employment.

• Where a worker personally provides services to a client through an employment intermediary rather than under a direct contract, each engagement is treated as a separate employment for travel expense purposes — meaning the client's premises will typically be the worker's permanent workplace, and home-to-work travel will not qualify for tax relief
• The section does not apply if the worker is genuinely free from supervision, direction or control in how they carry out the work — but this exemption is overridden where the arrangement falls within the intermediaries legislation (IR35) or the off-payroll working rules, provided the intermediary is not a managed service company
• If a client or other relevant person provides a fraudulent document to the employment intermediary falsely claiming the worker is outside supervision, direction or control, and PAYE is consequently not operated, the person who provided the fraudulent document becomes liable for the unpaid tax
• Any arrangements whose main purpose is to circumvent this section are to be disregarded, and key definitions — including an extended definition of "managed service company" — ensure the provision has broad application across typical agency and umbrella structures

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