CW 16BAccommodation expenditure: out-of-town secondments and projects

1. This section applies when—

2. the employment duties of an employee require them to work at a distant workplace on an out-of town secondment or a project of limited duration; and
3. the period of the employee's employment or service at the distant workplace is a period of continuous work; and
4. the employer—
   1. provides accommodation for the employee for a period that falls within a time limit described in section CW 16C:
   2. incurs expenditure on the employee's accommodation at the distant workplace for a period that falls within a time limit described in section CW 16C:
   3. incurs expenditure on the employee's accommodation for necessary travel to and from the distant workplace in connection with the performance of their duties.

5. This section does not apply—

6. to an amount that is the value provided or expenditure incurred by the employer when, under the terms of the their employment, the employee would be entitled to a greater amount of employment income, should the employee choose, or have chosen, not to receive the benefit of the amount:
7. in relation to an out-of-town secondment, to a new employee of the employer.

8. The amount that is the value provided or expenditure incurred by the employer is exempt income of the employee.

9. For the purposes of subsection (1)(c)(ii),—

10. an employer may make, for a relevant period, a reasonable estimate of the amount of expenditure likely to be incurred on an employee's accommodation; and
11. the amount estimated is treated as if it were the amount incurred during the period to which the estimate relates.

12. In this section and sections CW 16C to CW 16F, CW 17CB, and CZ 29 to CZ 30 (which relate to accommodation expenditure), as applicable,—

    distant workplace, for an employee, means a workplace that—

    1. is another workplace of the employee; and
    2. is not within reasonable daily travelling distance of their residence

    out-of-town secondment means the placement of an employee at a distant workplace—

    1. because the employment duties of the employee require them to work at the distant workplace for the performance of those duties; and
    2. for a period that, in their employer's expectation at the start of the period of secondment, will last for no more than 2 years

    period of continuous work—

    1. means a period when an employee has ongoing duties of employment that must be performed to a significant extent at a distant workplace, requiring the employee to stay at the distant location for 1 or more nights; and
    2. includes the employee's time away on leave or other breaks for personal reasons, weekend breaks, required rest periods, and other similar periods

    project of limited duration means a particular work project—

    1. whose principal purpose is to create, build, develop, restore, replace, or demolish a capital asset; and
    2. which is carried out under a contract between an employer (the contractor) and 1 or more persons who are not associated with the contractor; and
    3. in relation to which the engagement of an employee of the contractor at the distant workplace—
       1. has, at the outset, clear start and end dates; and
       2. involves work that, apart from incidental activities, is undertaken solely for the purposes of the project; and
       3. in the contractor’s expectation at the start of the project, will last for a period of no more than 3 years

    workplace means a particular place or base—

13. at which an employee performs their employment duties; or
14. from which an employee's duties are allocated.

Notes

• Section CW 16B: inserted, on 1 April 2015 (applying for the 2015–16 and later income years), by section 24(1) of the Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Act 2014 (2014 No 39).
• Section CW 16B(5): amended (with effect on 8 January 2023), on 28 March 2024, by section 20 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Act 2024 (2024 No 11).
• Section CW 16B(5) project of limited duration paragraph (b): replaced (with effect on 1 April 2015), on 24 February 2016, by section 83 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015–16, Research and Development, and Remedial Matters) Act 2016 (2016 No 1).
• Section CW 16B(5) project of limited duration paragraph (c): replaced (with effect on 1 April 2015), on 24 February 2016, by section 83 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2015–16, Research and Development, and Remedial Matters) Act 2016 (2016 No 1).