SE32540 - Other expenses: education and training - Extra- Statutory Concession A64

A deduction is available by concession for certain expenses met by an employee in attending an external training course related to the employment. The text of the concession is published in Booklet IR1.

The withdrawal of this concession was announced in Press Release 125a/00, issued on 25 July 2000. The concession has been withdrawn for payments made after 31 August 2000. The withdrawal of the concession was timed to coincide with the launch of the Individual Learning Account framework, see SE01310.

This paragraph lists the conditions that must be met before a deduction can be permitted. SE32541 explains what expenses can be deducted. The effect of the concession is illustrated by example SE32546 and example SE32547.

A deduction can be permitted where all the following conditions are met.

• The employer continues to pay the employee’s full salary for the time he or she spends on the course but allows the employee time off to attend the course during his or her normal working hours.
• The employee is required or encouraged to attend the course by the employer to improve his or her effectiveness in carrying out the job.
• The course is full time and requires the employee to attend every, or virtually every, working day for 4 consecutive weeks or more. Where a course is made up of a number of blocks the employee should only be permitted a deduction in respect of blocks that last for 4 weeks or more.
• The course is in the United Kingdom.
• It is not a re-sit course, that is, a course that the employee has to attend because he or she failed to meet the required standard in an earlier course.
• The course lasts for no more than 12 months and the employee returns to his or her normal place of work at the end of it.
• The payment is made before 1 September 2000.