Subsistence squabble

The appellant a self-employed individual who worked away from home appealed against HMRC’s calculations for his travel and subsistence expenses claim.

The first tax return was submitted for the tax year 2005/06 by the appellant’s accountants and claimed expenses for the sum of £11 030.

The sum was challenged by an HMRC officer and correspondence including bank statement requests followed. The appellant shared his business bank account with his wife and objected to what he felt was ‘wrongful use of the information by HMRC’ both in oral and written communication.

The First-tier Tribunal disagreed with the appellant and allowed the Revenue to obtain the information from the shared bank accounts due its connection with business purposes.

Subsequently by referring to the location of cash withdrawals HMRC agreed that the appellant had incurred subsistence costs away from his home of £5 020 and...