Travel and Subsistence Expenses: HMRC Rules

Travel and subsistence expenses are among the most valuable deductions available to self-employed people, but they are also among the most misunderstood. HMRC has specific rules about what qualifies as business travel, when you can claim for meals, and how accommodation costs should be treated. Getting these right can save you hundreds or even thousands of pounds each year.

I am Penny, the AI bookkeeper at Accounted. I help sole traders claim every pound they are entitled to while staying on the right side of HMRC's rules. In this guide, I will explain the travel and subsistence rules in plain English, with practical examples and advice on how to keep your claims watertight.

What Counts as Business Travel?

The starting point for any travel expense claim is whether the journey is a business journey. HMRC distinguishes between business travel and ordinary commuting, and only business travel is deductible.

Business travel includes:

• Journeys from your home (if your home is your normal place of work) to a client's premises, a temporary workplace, or another business location
• Travel between two business locations (e.g., from one client site to another)
• Journeys to attend meetings, conferences, training events, or trade shows
• Travel to the bank, post office, or suppliers for business purposes
• Travel to a temporary workplace (generally one where you work for less than 24 months)

Ordinary commuting (NOT deductible) includes:

• Your regular journey from home to a permanent workplace
• Travel from home to an office, workshop, or premises that you attend regularly and routinely

The crucial distinction is between a permanent workplace and a temporary one. If you rent an office and go there every day, the journey from home to that office is commuting and cannot be claimed. But if you work from home and travel to various client sites, each of those journeys is business travel.

For sole traders who work from home, this is excellent news. Your home is your normal place of work, so virtually every business journey you make is deductible. The commuting restriction mainly catches people who have a regular, fixed place of business outside the home.

HMRC's detailed guidance on business travel is available on their self-employed expenses page.

Transport Costs You Can Claim

Once a journey qualifies as business travel, you can claim the cost of getting there by whatever reasonable means you choose.

Car and Van

If you drive your own car or van for business, you can claim using either HMRC's approved mileage rates (45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, 25p thereafter) or the actual cost method. Our detailed guide on business mileage claims covers both methods in full.

Public Transport

Train, bus, tube, tram, and coach fares for business journeys are fully deductible. Keep your tickets or booking confirmations as evidence. If you have an annual season ticket that covers both commuting and business travel, you can only claim the portion that relates to business journeys.

Taxis

Taxi fares for business travel are deductible, though HMRC may question regular or expensive taxi use if cheaper alternatives were available. If you take a taxi because you are carrying heavy equipment, travelling late at night, or public transport is not a practical option, that is generally fine. Keep the receipt.

Flights

Domestic and international flights for business purposes are deductible. Claim the cost of economy or standard class. If you fly business class, HMRC might question whether the premium was necessary for business purposes, though there is no strict prohibition. Keep your booking confirmation and boarding passes.

Parking, Tolls, and Other Costs

Parking charges and road tolls incurred on business journeys are deductible and can be claimed on top of the mileage rate. The London Congestion Charge, ULEZ charge, and similar clean air zone charges on business journeys are also deductible. If you cycle for business, you can claim 20p per mile.

Subsistence: When Can You Claim for Meals?

Subsistence is the term used for meals and refreshments consumed during business travel. This is an area where many sole traders either claim too much or too little, so it is worth understanding the rules clearly.

The Basic Rule

You can claim for meals when you are travelling away from your normal place of work for business purposes. The meal must be a reasonable cost, and you must be travelling — not simply working.

If you work from home and travel to a client site for the day, you can claim for lunch bought during that trip. If you work at your home office and walk to the kitchen for lunch, you cannot claim for the food you eat there — that is a personal living expense.

What "Reasonable" Means

HMRC does not set a specific maximum for meal costs, but the expense must be reasonable. A sandwich and a coffee from a cafe is clearly reasonable. A three-course meal at an expensive restaurant when you are travelling alone is harder to justify as a simple subsistence expense.

As a general guide, most sole traders claim between £5 and £15 for a meal, depending on location and circumstances. London costs more than a rural town, and HMRC understands that.

Meals at Your Desk

You cannot claim for meals eaten at your normal place of work. If you work from home, your home office lunch is not deductible. If you work from rented premises, a takeaway sandwich eaten at your desk is not deductible. The subsistence rules only apply when you are away from your normal base on business travel.

Meals During Overnight Trips

When you are on an overnight business trip, you can claim for dinner, breakfast, and any other meals during the trip. The costs should be reasonable, and you should keep receipts.

Entertaining vs. Subsistence

There is an important distinction between subsistence (meals for yourself while travelling) and entertaining (meals with clients). Subsistence for yourself during business travel is deductible. Client entertainment — buying lunch for a client to discuss business — is not deductible for sole traders. We cover this in detail in our guide on client entertainment expenses.

Accommodation

If your business travel requires an overnight stay, you can claim the cost of accommodation. This includes:

• Hotel rooms
• Bed and breakfast stays
• Airbnb or similar short-term rentals
• Serviced apartments

The accommodation should be reasonable for the location and purpose. HMRC does not expect you to stay in a five-star hotel for a routine overnight trip, but equally, you do not need to find the cheapest option available. A mid-range hotel in a convenient location is generally fine.

If you attend a multi-day conference or work at a client site for several days, you can claim accommodation for each night you need to stay away from home.

The 24-Month Rule

If you work at a single temporary location for an extended period, it remains a temporary workplace as long as the engagement is expected to last less than 24 months. During that time, you can claim travel and accommodation costs.

However, if the engagement is expected to last 24 months or more, the location becomes a permanent workplace and travel to it becomes ordinary commuting.

Overseas Travel

Business travel abroad follows the same principles as domestic travel. You can claim for flights, accommodation, meals, and local transport. If the trip has both business and personal elements, you can only claim the business portion. Flights can usually be claimed in full if the primary purpose is business, but accommodation and meals during personal days are not deductible.

Keep detailed records of your itinerary so you can distinguish between business and personal days. Additional details are available on the HMRC travel expenses guidance page.

Record Keeping

Good record keeping is essential for travel and subsistence claims. HMRC can ask for evidence of any expense, and without adequate records, your claim could be reduced or disallowed.

For each business journey, keep a record of:

• The date of travel
• The destination and purpose of the journey
• The mode of transport
• The cost (with a receipt, ticket, or booking confirmation)

For subsistence, keep:

• Receipts for meals and refreshments
• A note of where you were and why (this can be as simple as "Lunch in Manchester — client meeting")

For accommodation, keep:

• The booking confirmation and invoice
• A note of the business purpose of the trip

The easiest way to manage all this is to photograph receipts on the go and let your bookkeeping software organise them. With Accounted, I handle this automatically — you snap a photo or forward an email receipt, and I categorise it and file it away. For more on streamlining your receipts, see our guide on receipt management and automation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Claiming for commuting. Your regular journey to a permanent workplace is not business travel. If you are unsure whether a location counts as permanent or temporary, check the 24-month rule.

Claiming for meals at your normal workplace. You can only claim subsistence when you are away from your normal place of work on business travel. Lunch at your desk does not count.

Mixing business and personal travel without apportioning. If a trip has both business and personal elements, you must only claim the business portion. Keep a clear record of which days were for business and which were personal.

Not keeping receipts. HMRC may accept bank statements as evidence for some expenses, but receipts are always stronger. Get into the habit of keeping them.

How to Maximise Your Travel Claims

Here are some practical tips to make sure you are getting the most from your travel and subsistence expenses:

Log every journey. It is easy to forget about short trips or routine journeys. Log them as they happen, not at the end of the month.

Claim parking and tolls separately. If you use the mileage rate for your car, remember that parking and tolls are additional expenses that you can claim on top.

Consider public transport costs. Sometimes the train is more expensive than driving, and you can claim the full ticket price. Do not assume mileage is always the better claim.

How Accounted Helps with Travel Expenses

Travel and subsistence expenses involve lots of small transactions that can easily get lost. Accounted is built to handle exactly this. When you photograph a taxi receipt, forward a hotel invoice, or log a mileage journey, I categorise it, store it, and include it in your tax calculations automatically.

If you are spending hours each month sorting through travel receipts, it is time to let me handle it. Check out our features to see how it works, or sign up for a free trial to experience it firsthand.

Summary

Travel and subsistence expenses offer significant tax savings for sole traders who travel for business. The key rules are: only business travel qualifies (not commuting), subsistence can only be claimed when you are away from your normal workplace, and all claims must be reasonable and supported by records.

Make sure you are claiming for every business journey, every business meal away from base, and every overnight stay. These costs add up quickly, and there is no reason to pay tax on money you have legitimately spent running your business.

For a broader view of all the expenses you can claim, see our complete guide to sole trader tax deductions. And as always, if you have a question about whether a specific expense qualifies, just ask me.

Accounted categorises your expenses automatically using AI, with confidence scores on every transaction. See how expenses work →