P Mellor v HMRC

In P Mellor v HMRC (TC00906 – 17 January) a self-employed electrician (M) who worked for various building contractors claimed a deduction for the cost of driving from his home to the sites where he worked. HMRC rejected his claim but the First-Tier Tribunal allowed his appeal in principle (subject to agreement as to figures) applying the principles laid down in Horton v Young CA 1971 47 TC 60 and distinguishing Newsom v Robertson CA 1952 33 TC 452. Judge Powell observed that M could not ‘have coordinated his business activities without having somewhere to receive the electrical drawings which allowed him to make quotes’.

Why it matters: Travelling from one’s home to one’s place of work is not an allowable deduction for the reasons explained by the CA in the 1952 case of Newsom v Robertson. However travelling...