It’s an emergency

I have a client who is an employee in the emergency services. He is paid an annual accommodation allowance as he is required to live within 15 minutes of his base. The allowance is paid monthly and is taxed as part of his salary.

My client has asked me whether he can reclaim the tax on the basis of the restricted living condition. I have told him that he cannot as it is not an expense of the employment.

My client now tells me that some of his colleagues have claimed the expense and have received a tax refund. They have entered the claim in box 20 of the employment pages which is the box for other expenses.

I suspect that these colleagues have received the refund simply because HMRC have input the data and not queried the return.

I would very much welcome Taxation reader’s comments on how to...