Expenses You Can and Can’t Claim via an Umbrella Company

The Truth About Umbrella Company Expenses: Don’t Get Burned

Let’s call time on the confusion. Too many UK contractors are left bewildered by restrictive, unclear guidance around umbrella expenses. The truth? You cannot ignore these rules without risking your money—your future is at stake. You deserve bold clarity, not legal grey zones.

Allowed Expenses: Your Hard-Won Rights

If you’re employed by an umbrella company, the government’s relentless crackdown means expenses aren’t a free-for-all. However, there are exceptions—know them, demand them, and defend them!

You can generally claim:

• Certain Mileage: If your assignment is genuinely temporary—less than 24 months—and you’re traveling to a temporary workplace, mileage claims (using HMRC rates) are allowed.
• Professional Subscriptions: Fees for memberships directly related to your trade, such as the IR35 Helpline, are legitimate.
• Business-Related Training: Training essential to your current contract—NOT for future work, only for your present role—can sometimes be claimed.
• Some Equipment and Uniforms: If these are entirely, exclusively, and necessarily for your current assignment, they’re sometimes allowable. But tread carefully—HMRC scrutinises every detail.

Expense	Usually Allowed?	Notes
Mileage to temporary site	Yes	Must meet strict temporary workplace criteria
Professional subscriptions	Yes	Only for current role-related memberships
Training (current contract)	Yes/rare	Sometimes allowed if essential for contract
Meals	No	Generally not allowed
General travel/subsistence	No	Disallowed post-2016, except for rare exceptions
Home office equipment	Rare	Only if wholly, exclusively, necessarily required

Expenses You Can’t Touch (No Matter What Anyone Promises)

Face it: the 2016 reforms ban almost everything else.
• Travel to Regular Work Sites: Forget it. Your daily commute? Not claimable.
• Meals and Subsistence: The days of offsetting your lunch are long gone under umbrella PAYE.
• General Office Supplies: No more claiming for computers, software, or general stationery—unless explicitly required and approved in rare scenarios.
• Phone Bills: Not allowable. Your standard mobile use stays on your bill.

Let anyone try to sell you otherwise? They’re dangerous—run.

The Penalty for Getting It Wrong: A Wake-Up Call

This is not just bureaucracy. Claim what you’re not entitled to, and you risk a clawback that will gut your take-home pay. HMRC’s penalties are severe. Your financial stability is too important to gamble with wishful thinking or dodgy advice.

Don’t Be Misled—Take Charge

Too many umbrella companies and recruiters conveniently gloss over these facts, or worse, peddle illusions. Don’t play with your livelihood. Demand transparency and proof. Insist your umbrella provider puts everything, in writing, that details what you can and absolutely cannot claim.

What You Must Do Next

1. Push back on unclear policies. Ask: Is this expense allowable? Where is the HMRC guidance? 2. Get everything in writing. If promises sound too good to be true, they are. 3. Stay updated on the latest changes. Regulations shift fast. Don’t let your knowledge fall behind. 4. If in doubt, seek professional advice from an advisor who is truly on your side, not a salesperson’s payroll.

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Refuse confusion and passivity. Take charge, stay compliant, and protect your hard-won income. Don’t let anyone jeopardise your future with false promises.

Secure your finances: demand the truth on expenses today.