Ordinary travel undertaken between home and a regular place of work is merely a prerequisite to the commencement of an employee’s work duties
As a general rule, the ATO does not accept that expenses incurred by an employee for ordinary travel between home and a regular place of work are deductible, subject to limited exceptions (e.g., certain employees who are ‘on call’ or employees who are transporting bulky equipment, which will be discussed in future updates).
These expenses are not incurred in the course of an employee gaining or producing assessable income. Rather, ordinary travel undertaken between home and a regular place of work is merely a prerequisite to the commencement of an employee’s work duties, in addition to being private in nature.
This outcome is not altered merely because an employee:
- Performs some work-related tasks at home as a matter of choice or convenience prior to travelling to their regular place of work;
- Performs some work activities while travelling to the regular place of work (e.g., reading work emails on a train);
- Travels during work hours;
- Lives a significant distance from their regular place of work;
- Needs to travel to and from their regular place of work more than once a day (e.g., a teacher who drives to school after hours to attend parent teacher interviews);
- Is limited in their choice of travel due to the location of their home or regular place of work (e.g., an employee who does not have public transport near their home);
- Receives an allowance relating to their travel;
- Works overtime or on shift (where their shift hours begin or end during the night); or
- Stops en route to their regular place of work to perform an incidental work task (e.g., a secretary who collects newspapers on their way to work).
In all of the above circumstances, the purpose of travel is for an employee to reach the location at which they commence their work duties rather than to gain or produce assessable income. That is, the travel is undertaken as a prerequisite to the commencement of their work duties.
When is a work location regarded as an employee’s regular place of work?
For most employees, their regular place of work is the usual or normal location at which they start and finish work duties with a particular employer.
In certain situations, the determination of an employee’s regular place of work may not be straightforward, particularly where the employee works in different locations and is without a fixed base of employment. In these circumstances, their regular place of work is generally where their duties of employment commence, and where they begin to come under the direction and control of their employer. This may be determined by considering, in more detail, surrounding factors such as the employee’s employment contract, customary practice and the nature of their work duties.
It is important to note that an employee is not limited to a single regular place of work. A second (or subsequent) work location may become an additional regular place of work where an employee is required to travel to that work location on a normal and routine basis.