Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 section 359

Disallowance of travel expenses: mileage allowances and reliefs

Section 359 prevents employees from claiming travel expense deductions under the normal travel deduction rules when they use their own vehicle (i.e. not a company vehicle) and either receive mileage allowance payments or are entitled to mileage allowance relief.

• Employees who use their own vehicle for work travel cannot claim separate travel expense deductions if they receive mileage allowance payments from their employer
• The same restriction applies if mileage allowance relief is available to the employee, even if no mileage allowance payments are actually made
• The rule exists to prevent double relief — employees must use the mileage allowance system rather than claiming actual travel costs when mileage allowances or relief apply
• The restriction only applies to vehicles that are not company vehicles; where a company vehicle is used, the normal travel expense deduction rules continue to apply