EIM01200 - Employment income: further education and training costs: introduction

Section 250 ITEPA 2003

The rules on tax liability from an employer's or third party's expenditure upon, or reimbursement of, training costs changed from 6 April 1997.

• Before 1997/98 an extra-statutory concession provided relief from tax if certain conditions were met. An explanation of that concession, ESC A63, is given at SE01350.
• From 6 April 1997, Section 250 ITEPA 2003 (originally, Sections 200B to D ICTA 1988)provides a wider statutory exemption in connection with an employer's payment or reimbursement of expenditure on the provision of work-related training for employees. The guidance on Section 250 is arranged as follows:

• For 2000/01 and 2001/02, Sections 200E to J ICTA 1988 provided an additional exemption for contributions by an employer, or by a third party, to training or education undertaken by an employee (or former employee) as the holder of an Individual Learning Account (see SE01310 onwards). Individual Learning Accounts were discontinued in all areas of the United Kingdom from November 2001.

As regards:

• courses of training for employees who are about to leave or have recently left an employment, see EIM05005 onwards
• claims under Part 5 Chapter 2 for a deduction for expenses not reimbursed by the employer, see EIM32525 to EIM32535
• courses for which the employee is enrolled at a university, technical college or similar educational establishment for at least one academic year and his actual full time attendance at that establishment during that period amounts on average to at least 20 weeks a year, see EIM06205 onwards
• examination grants to employees, see EIM01100
• overseas conferences and study tours, see EIM31950 onwards.