SE34050 - Foreign travel rules: duties performed wholly or partly abroad - travelling expenses of the employee’s family
Section 194(1) and (2) ICTA 1988
Summary
This page is concerned with the travelling expenses of an employee who works partly or wholly abroad.
Conditions
The employee must:
- Be resident and ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom (see SE34010)
- Hold an office or employment
- The duties of the office or employment are performed partly or wholly outside the United Kingdom
Other factors:
- The cost is borne or reimbursed by (or on behalf of) the employer and
- is an assessable emolument of the employee
- The employee is absent from the United Kingdom for the purpose of performing the duties of one or more offices or employments for a continuous period of 60 days or more (see example SE34060 for details of the “60 day test”).
- The journey is undertaken by the family to either:
- accompany the employee at the beginning of the absence of 60 days or more, or
- visit the employee during such a period or to return afterwards.
Nature of the deduction
Allow the cost of up to:
- two outward (from the United Kingdom to the overseas workplace (see SE34070)) and
- two inward journeys (from the overseas workplace to the United Kingdom)
in any year of assessment by each member of the employee's family, if all of the above conditions are satisfied.
Meaning of “family”
“Family” for this purpose includes:
- the employee's spouse and
- the employee's children. The term includes any stepchild, adopted child or illegitimate child but not a child over the age of 18 at the time of leaving the United Kingdom.
Additional information
The deduction only covers the travel costs of the family. Once the family arrives at the overseas workplace no deduction can be given for their board and lodging. If the employer meets the cost of the family’s board and lodging the cost is a chargeable emolument of the employee.
