I am asking the same question as Lex100 in May 2018 regarding a Sole trader. There are reasonable meal and travel allowances for employees. One of my clients is a sole trader and had been away for work for some days. Can he also claim based on the rates for reasonable meal accommodation and travel for employees? There seems to be no concise answer so far on this for businesses. The information all relates to employees.
Hi @Helenbooks,
Because sole traders run their own business, they can claim deductions for any business-related travel expenses if they keep a travel diary and appropriate records of the expenses incurred (such as reciepts). Apportionment between business vs private expenses also needs to be applied when claiming the deduction, but as long as the business-related amounts can be proved and justified, they should be able to claim them.
The reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance limits are only for employees that receive an allowance to cover those specific costs. Because sole traders don't receive an allowance, the reasonable allowance figures don't apply, they just need to keep full records.
Hi @Helenbooks,
Because sole traders run their own business, they can claim deductions for any business-related travel expenses if they keep a travel diary and appropriate records of the expenses incurred (such as reciepts). Apportionment between business vs private expenses also needs to be applied when claiming the deduction, but as long as the business-related amounts can be proved and justified, they should be able to claim them.
The reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance limits are only for employees that receive an allowance to cover those specific costs. Because sole traders don't receive an allowance, the reasonable allowance figures don't apply, they just need to keep full records.
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