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Autumn News
On The Job Training
If your employer pays for you to go on a training course, you don't get taxed on the cost. It's part of the job to go. That's obvious. But what if you decide to pay for your own course? Up to now, the taxman has always used a Catch-22 argument: if the course was necessary, your employer would pay. If you have to pay, it can't be necessary, so you can't get a deduction for the expense.The High Court has recently rejected this argument in the case of a doctor who had to pay to attend courses, conferences and meetings. The judge accepted that the training could reasonably be regarded as a requirement of her job, and it was not simply an optional extra that she chose to add on for her own benefit. She was allowed to deduct the cost of the courses and also travel and subsistence expenses while on them.
That's an unusual decision, but an encouraging one. If you spend money on training, either as an employer or as an employee, you may want to check whether you are setting it up in a tax-efficient way. We can advise you.