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Expenses Definitions

Are you struggling to understand any expenses related phrases? Let us explain…

Ordinary commuting

Ordinary commuting means travel between your home (or any other place that is not a workplace) and a permanent workplace See EIM32055 for further information.

Permanent workplace

A workplace will be considered a ‘permanent workplace’ if:

  • it is one you attend regularly and
  • it is a workplace which cannot be considered a ‘temporary workplace’ (see definition below).


It is possible to have more than one permanent workplace.

Temporary workplace

A workplace will be considered a ‘temporary workplace’ if:

  • It is a workplace you attend to perform a task of ‘limited duration’ or attend for a ‘temporary purpose’ AND
  • It is not somewhere you will, or intend to, travel to for more than 24 months OR if you do travel, or intend to travel, to the workplace for more than 24 months, then the workplace is not somewhere you spend, nor intend to, spend more than 40% of your working time AND
  • It is not somewhere you attend for all or almost all of the period for which you hold, or are likely to hold, employment. This means that it cannot be the only workplace you intend to visit during your employment and you must not be working on the last assignment you intend to complete with PayStream (N.B: HMRC considers each assignment you undertake to be classed a separate ‘employment’ for the purposes of claiming expenses) AND
  • (If the workplace is a depot or similar base) It is not somewhere you regularly attend because it is the place from which you work at or at which you are routinely allocated tasks.


Where a workplace has changed, then the journey undertaken, or, the cost to travel to the new workplace must be significantly different from any previous workplace for it to be considered a separate workplace. If you attend a new workplace therefore, but the cost to travel to that workplace is not significantly different to your previous workplace, then both workplaces will be considered the same workplace for the purposes of establishing whether it is temporary or not.

More information and examples to demonstrate the difference between permanent and temporary workplaces can be found at EIM30280 and EIM3200.

Limited duration

HMRC has an open definition for ‘limited duration’, with the ‘24-month rule’ being a reference point. See EIM32080 for further information.

Temporary purpose

HMRC defines ‘temporary purpose’ as ‘self-contained visits’. Where you attend a workplace for a particular reason rather than as part of a series of visits for the continuation of a particular task then it is likely to be for a temporary purpose. See EIM32150 and EIM32151 for further information.

Area rule

If your duties are defined by reference to a geographic area rather than a particular workplace, then the whole geographical area will be treated as permanent workplace if:

  • you have no single permanent workplace
  • you attend the area regularly,
  • your duties are defined by reference to that area and
  • if the area was to be treated as a workplace, it would be a permanent workplace.