🚗 Business vs. Private Travel: What Every Business Needs to Know
Travel is a normal part of running a business, whether you’re visiting clients, attending conferences, or meeting suppliers. But when it comes to your accounts, not all travel is treated equally. Understanding the difference between business travel and private travel is essential for staying compliant, managing expenses properly, and avoiding costly mistakes when it’s time to file your taxes.
💼 What Counts as Business Travel?
Business travel covers any journey made wholly and exclusively for business purposes. In other words, if the travel is directly related to your job or your company’s operations, it’s likely to qualify.
Examples include:
Visiting clients, customers, or suppliers
Attending meetings, site visits, or industry events
Travelling between two business locations
Delivering goods or providing services off-site
Expenses related to business travel are generally tax-deductible, which means they can be claimed to reduce your taxable profit. These can include:
Fuel or mileage (within HMRC-approved rates)
Train, bus, or plane fares
Parking and tolls
Accommodation and reasonable meals while away overnight
However, to qualify, the trip must serve a clear business purpose, and you should always keep proper documentation to support your claim.
🏠 What Counts as Private Travel?
Private travel is any journey that’s not directly connected to business activity. The most common example is commuting, travelling from home to your normal or permanent workplace.
HMRC considers commuting to be a personal expense, so it cannot be claimed as a business cost. This applies to employees, directors, and the self-employed alike.
For example:
Driving from home to your office every day ❌ Not claimable
Driving from your office to a client site ✅ Claimable
Even if you run your own business, your regular place of work is still treated as your “base,” meaning daily travel there and back remains private.
⚖️ What About Mixed Travel?
Sometimes a journey combines business and personal reasons, for example:
You travel to another city for a meeting and stay over the weekend for leisure.
You attend a conference abroad and extend your stay for a short holiday.
In these cases, only the business portion of the costs can be claimed. Your train fare or conference ticket may be allowable, but personal hotel stays or sightseeing expenses are not.
Keeping clear, detailed records is essential, especially if HMRC ever asks you to justify your claims.
🧾 Best Practices for Managing Travel Expenses
To make sure your business stays compliant and efficient:
Keep detailed receipts and records for every journey.
Log mileage accurately and use HMRC’s approved rates.
Clearly note the purpose of each trip in your records.
Separate personal and business costs, especially on mixed trips.
Educate your employees about what’s claimable and what isn’t.
💡 Why Getting It Right Matters
Accurate travel expense reporting isn’t just about good bookkeeping, it’s about protecting your business. Claiming non-allowable private travel could lead to HMRC penalties, while missing legitimate business claims means you’re paying more tax than necessary.
By clearly distinguishing between business and private travel, you can:
Stay compliant with HMRC
Optimise your tax position
Maintain transparent, reliable accounts
🧮 How JSB Accountants Can Help
At JSB Accountants, we understand that the line between business and private travel can sometimes feel blurred, especially for company directors and self-employed professionals.
Our experienced team can help you:
Identify which travel expenses are tax-deductible
Set up clear expense policies for your staff
Maintain accurate, HMRC-compliant records
Ensure you claim every allowable deduction without crossing into risky territory
We take the stress out of the details, so you can focus on running your business confidently, knowing your travel expenses are handled correctly.
📞 Get in touch with JSB Accountants today to make sure your business travel is recorded properly, compliant with HMRC, and working in your financial favour.
As a family-run company, we pride ourselves on providing a bespoke service tailored to your particular needs.
Above all, our objective is to save you time, money and effort in managing your accounts, leaving you free to focus on building your business.
Remember, you’re not alone, we’re always here to help if you have an accounts problem or query.
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