Claiming mileage expenses for shorter trips than my commute

[Theoneandonlyone]

I have recently been promoted with my employer. My commute is an 80 mile round trip but I have mostly worked from home with 1/2 days a month in the office. My new role basically calls for a lot of travelling / supplier visits etc. 2 / 3 times a week. I’m told I can’t claim mileage for these as most of them are under my office commute. I don’t get a company car or allowance. AIBU to think that given that I’m using my own car, require business insurance etc. that I should be able to claim for fuel? Especially given how expensive it is at the moment? It basically wipes out my increase in salary?

Perfectly normal they say no when its within your normal commute.

As others have said, it's down to HMRC rules.

You could ask your employer about being designated a geographic worker (not a home worker) as that would cover your situation:
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32191

Further details here about what hmrc consider to fall within 'ordinary commuting' and when you'd be able to claim, including some examples.

www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32306

What does your contract say is your place of work @Theoneandonlyone ? If it says the office and you’ve been “allowed” to wfh then you are stuck. If it’s wfh with occasional office attendances or hybrid then you should be able to claim form home on your normal wfh days.

Going to go against the grain here.

Refer to HMRC Guidance 490 Chapter 3.

Example 9 shows that if your journey is not to your work place but is to somewhere nearer than your workplace it is business travel not a commute.

Example 54 shows that even if you drive past your place of work onwards you can still claim the trip from home as business travel not a commute.

Obviously the company can be more restrictive than the guidance, they don't have to pay business expenses at all, although I suppose they would find it really hard to get someone to do the role if they don't.

I've never been asked to reduce my mileage by the commute distance and I have worked for large tax advisors (albeit not in tax).

As everybody has already said, it is very common to deduct ordinary commuting from any business mileage. My place doesn't do that which is generous so I'd suggest you read the actual expenses policy to make absolutely sure. Adding business to your insurance isn't generally too expensive and insurance companies like direct line add it automatically, so shop around.

If you company applies a policy that pays less than the allowable HMRC payments you can claim the difference in your tax return and get the tax on it back.

Never known anyone let you claim mileage that is less than your standard office commute

if your insurance has increased however that should be a legitimate expense

The probem is that if you don't claim the expense, which will cover the fuel, the wear and tear and any business insurance, you are basically subsidising the business with your vehicle and fuel expense. Especially if you would only have done this 1-2 times per month without this part of the job but you are doing this more times than that.

Can you decline the offer and go back to your old job?

Ok understood. It just feels like people with longer commutes get penalised.
I joined during Covid so didn’t go to the office for year 1, then only once twice a month since then?
but google did imply this was correct. So I stand down! Thanks for confirming!

Unfortunately it's standard practice because these sort of policies date from before hybrid working was a thing. The policies assume you would ordinarly be doing that commute every day, therefore any day that you aren't is a bonus to you rather than something you should expect and then claim extra when driving. It is something to look out for if applying for jobs I would say (this is a factor in my work, and no hire cars or company cars or lease schemes are not a thing!)

@Dragonflytamer That's interesting. And I wish I'd know that for my last job. Like the OP it's all too easy for companies and organisations to take advantage of employees who are outliers in such cases. I was the only one with any sort of commute (30 miles each way) and they definitely took advantage of that fact also playing fast and loose with which days were WFH and what projects I was on. What with that and a few other issues I cried enough recently and quit.

If you do a lot of business mileage that you're not being paid forand it is travel to somewhere other than your normal place of work, you can submit a tax return and at least get a bit knocked off/back from your income tax bill.

As others have said, can’t clam for something less than your commute. You might have an argument if you have been designated wfh only and part of contract/ do not have a space in the office (and so saving them office space costs).
However - and I’ve worked in places than mean a long commute - an employer might, on your application to a job (or notifying them of a move far from the office) raise it as a potential concern, but ultimately it’s up to an employee to decide on what commute they are willing to do. Certainly not to the company to subsidise someone choosing to live far away from their work.

People who take jobs further away from home are penalised by having a longer commute in the first place anyway -

Sounds pretty standard to me