Business travel and subsistence: what you can claim
What does and doesn’t qualify - explained
When you travel for business and incur costs on meals, accommodation, or transport, the company can pay or reimburse these costs. Where a cost qualifies, it reduces the company's taxable profit for Corporation Tax and is not a taxable benefit-in-kind on you personally, provided it is incurred wholly, exclusively, and necessarily for the business.
What qualifies
- Train, bus, and taxi fares for business journeys (not commuting)
- Flights for genuine business travel
- Hotel accommodation when an overnight stay is required for business
- Meals and refreshments during a business trip where a stay away from home is necessary
What does not qualify
- Meals taken at or near your normal place of work (day-to-day subsistence)
- Commuting costs
- Entertainment of clients (this is client entertainment, not subsistence)
💡 Good to know: HMRC distinguishes between subsistence (eating while away on business) and entertainment (providing meals to clients). Subsistence is allowable; client entertainment is not. A working lunch with a client is entertainment. A meal you eat alone during an overnight business trip is subsistence.
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