SE32955 - Other expenses: telephone charges: line rental or standing charge: costs incurred up to 5 April 2001

From 6 April 2001 onward, no deduction should be permitted for any part of the line rental or standing charge for a telephone installed at an employee’s home, see SE32940. However, a deduction can be permitted for costs incurred and defrayed at any time up to and including 5 April 2001 where the employee can show that

• it was genuinely part of his or her duties to deal with emergencies as opposed to merely holding general responsibility for premises or plant, or
• his or her home was a workplace (see SE32760) and the telephone was used consistently for business purposes.

In such cases a deduction can be permitted equal to the proportion of the rental charge that the business use bears to the total use. This is illustrated by the example at SE32950.

In certain cases in which the employer provides the telephone and all of the relevant conditions are met there may be an exemption from the benefit charge. The exemption is provided by Section 155ZA ICTA 1988 which applies with effect from 6 April 2000, see SE21608.