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D2 Work-related travel expenses 2023

Complete question D2 if you incurred travel expenses in the course of performing your work as an employee.

Last updated 24 May 2023

Things you need to know

For information about what expenses you claim as car expenses (question  D1 ) and what expenses you claim as travel expenses (question  D2 ), and some examples of trips you can and cannot claim, see Car and travel expenses 2023 .

This question is about travel expenses you incur in performing your work as an employee. They include:

• public transport, air travel and taxi fares
• bridge and road tolls, parking fees and short-term car hire
• meal, accommodation and incidental expenses you incur while away overnight for work
• expenses for motorcycles and vehicles with a carrying capacity of one tonne or more, or 9 or more passengers, such as utility trucks and panel vans
• actual expenses, such as petrol, repair and maintenance costs, that you incur to travel in a car that is owned or leased by someone else.

If your employer provided a car for your or your relatives' exclusive use (including under a salary sacrifice arrangement) and you or your relatives were entitled to use it for non-work purposes, you cannot claim a deduction for work-related expenses for operating the car, such as petrol, repairs and other maintenance. This is the case even if the expenses relate directly to your work. However, you can claim expenses such as parking, bridge and road tolls for a work-related use of the car. Parking at or travelling to a regular workplace is not ordinarily considered to be a work-related use of the car.

Reasonable allowance amounts

If your travel allowance was not shown on your income statement or payment summary and was equal to or less than the reasonable allowance amount for your circumstances, you do not have to include the allowance at item  2 provided that you have fully spent it on deductible work-related travel expenses and you do not claim a deduction for these expenses.

Make sure you keep accurate records of travel to make future claims.

For information on:

• travel deductions for employees, see TR 2021/1 Income tax: when are deductions allowed for employees' transport expenses? and TR 2021/4 Income tax and fringe benefits tax: employees: accommodation and food and drink expenses, travel allowances, and living-away-from-home allowances
• shifting places of employment, see TR 95/34 Income tax: employees carrying out itinerant work – deductions, allowances and reimbursements for transport expenses
• reasonable allowance amounts, see TD 2022/10 Income tax: what are the reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2022–23 income year? together with TR 2004/6 Income tax: substantiation exception for reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expenses
• award transport allowance payments, see Award transport payments .

Did you have any work-related travel expenses?

What you need to answer this question

You must have written evidence for the whole of your claim.

To claim meal, accommodation and incidental expenses, you must have incurred the expenses when you travelled and stayed away from your home overnight in the course of performing your work duties. You must also have paid the expenses yourself and not been reimbursed.

You cannot claim meal, accommodation and incidental expenses, if the expenses were incurred because:

• you lived a long way from where you worked because of your personal circumstances
• there was a change to your regular place of work and you lived away from your usual residence to be closer to your new regular place of work (living away from home)
• you chose to sleep at or near your workplace rather than returning to your home between shifts.

If you wish to claim meal, accommodation and incidental expenses you incurred when you travelled away overnight for work, then to determine what evidence you need, use tables 4 and 5 in Special circumstances and glossary 2023 .

If you received assessable income from your work as an employee outside of Australia that is shown on an income statement or a PAYG payment summary – foreign employment , you must claim any work-related travel expenses you incurred in earning that income at this item.

If you received assessable foreign employment income that is not shown on an income statement or a PAYG payment summary – foreign employment you must claim your deductions against that income at question 20 Foreign source income and foreign assets or property 2023 .

Completing your tax return

To complete this question, follow steps 1 and 2 below.

Add up all your deductible travel expenses.

Write the total amount at question  D2 – label  B .

Where to go next

• Go to question D3 Work-related clothing, laundry and dry cleaning expenses 2023 .
• Return to main menu Individual tax return instructions 2023 .
• Go back to question D1 Work-related car expenses 2023 .

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Car travel expenses are tricky to claim. Getting it wrong may incur not claim at all.

Cents per kilometre is the simple method of claiming work related car expenses. the ato determine a rate each year that covers all the costs of running a car. that rate is then multiplied by the number of work related kilometres (maximum 5000km). the alternative is to use the log book method.

We suggest you keep a log book of your work related travel, no matter what method you chose to claim.

From 1 July 2015, separate rates based on the size of your car engine do not apply.

Below are the most recent years rate that can be claimed.

• 72 cents per km for 2020–21 and 2021–22
• 68 cents per km for 2018–19 and 2019–20
• 66 cents per km for 2017–18, 2016–17 and 2015–16

Below you will find the historic values of the cents per km rate.

If you use the ‘cents per kilometre’ method, multiply the number of business kms (up to 5,000) by the amount allowed for your car engine capacity.

Find your nearest branch here . Or do it online and we can pay you your refund within 3-5 working days.

What are the reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2022-23 income year?      Click Here

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Track mileage automatically

How to calculate your car expenses reimbursement, in this article, not the guide you we're looking for , how do i use the cents per km rate to calculate mileage reimbursement, what about the logbook method, is there a difference between the logbook method and actual costs method when i calculate my mileage, how do i calculate my business mileage percentage, further examples.

On this page you will learn how to calculate your mileage reimbursement. 

Did you know that you can log your business travel and calculate your reimbursements automatically? The Driversnote logbook app is always up to date on ATO mileage rates.

Current and previous ATO cents per KM

2023/2024 ATO mileage rate 2022/2023 ATO mileage rate

If you're an employee, your employer might use a different rate than the one we use here. They may also have different rules for mileage reimbursement. If you haven’t already, take a look at our guide for employees .

If you're self-employed, remember that if you’re using the cents per km method to calculate your tax deduction, you can claim a maximum of 5000km. If you drive more than 5000km, you can use the logbook method instead. Learn more about claiming car expenses as a self-employed individual .

Kilometre tracking made easy

Trusted by millions of drivers

We'll look at the two most common situations:

A: You drive your personal vehicle for business, and your company uses the ATO's standard cents per km rate to figure out how much you should be reimbursed.

You have kept records for the past month, and they show that you've driven 180km for business. The standard mileage rate is 85 cents per kilometre for 2023/2024. To find your reimbursement, you multiply the number of kilometres by the rate:

[km] * [rate], or 180 km * $0.85 = $153.

B: You drive the company's vehicle for business, and you pay the costs of operating it (gas, oil, maintenance, etc.).

In this situation, you can't use the standard mileage rate because it's meant to cover both the cost of owning and operating a vehicle. In this case, you only operate it. Your company has instead set a rate of (for example) 60 cents per km. To determine your reimbursement, you run the same operation again:

[km] * [rate], or 180 km * $0.60 = $108

So here we can see that owning the car you drive for business results in higher reimbursement–but you also have higher costs, especially when you include the car's depreciation.

Finally - you are able to claim a reimbursement or tax deduction for more than one vehicle should you need to. Simply repeat the calculation at the relevant rate for each car!

Try our cents per km calculator to easily work out your reimbursement.

Input your business kilometres below

To calculate mileage reimbursement using the logbook method, you need to know the business use percentage of your car expenses. Let’s look at a simple example:

At the end of the financial year, your logbook shows a record of 15,000 total kilometres. Of the 15,000 kilometres, 75% were for business purposes.

After adding up all of your expenses for the year from the receipts and invoices you’ve kept, your total expenses (including depreciation) are $12,000 for the financial year. To calculate your mileage reimbursement, you just need to complete the following calculation:

[Expenses] x [Business Use %] = [Deduction]

$12,000 x 75% = $9,000

Once again, you are able to claim your deduction or reimbursement for more than one car. Simply maintain a separate logbook for each vehicle. If you are using a paper logbook, you can keep one per car. Some apps like Driversnote allow you to select the car that you are driving before tracking your trip.

No. If you are eligible to use the actual costs method (that is, if you are submitting a tax deduction for a company or a trust, or claiming work-related expenses for a vehicle not classed as a car), the calculation you use is the same as what we described above for the logbook method. 

Knowing the portion of a car's use that is for business (not personal use) is useful for figuring out how much you can claim for depreciation and other costs of operating that vehicle. Let's go through a quick scenario:

You've driven 200 personal km in a given period. During the same period, you've also logged 100km of business travel.

To figure out your business use, divide your business miles by the total number of miles driven. In our example, you've used your car for business 33% of the time: 100/300 = 0.33 or 33%.

For more information, we suggest you continue reading our guides, as they provide specific information that may help you based on your own set of circumstances. 

How to automate your mileage logbook

ATO Mileage Guide

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Travel allowances

Explains the PAYG withholding implications on travel allowances.

Last updated 24 August 2021

Travel allowance is a payment made to an employee to cover accommodation, food, drink or incidental expenses they incur when they travel away from their home overnight in the course of their duties.

Allowances folded into your employee's salary or wages are taxed as salary and wages and tax has to be withheld, unless an exception applies.

You include the amount of the travel allowance in the allowance box on your employee's payment summary.

The exception applies if:

• you expect your employee to spend all of the travel allowance you pay them on accommodation, food, drink or incidental expenses
• you show the amount and nature of the travel allowance separately in your accounting records
• the travel allowance is not for overseas accommodation
• the amount of travel allowance you pay your employee is less than, or equal to the reasonable travel allowance rate.

If the exception applies, you:

• don't withhold tax from the travel allowance you pay your employee
• don't include the amount of the travel allowance in the allowance box on your employee's payment summary
• only include the allowance on their payslip.

If the first two exception conditions are met but you pay your employee a travel allowance over the reasonable travel allowance rate, you're required to withhold tax from the amount that exceeds the reasonable travel allowance rate. You also need to include the total amount of the travel allowance in the allowance box on your employee's payment summary.

You are always required to withhold tax from a travel allowance for overseas accommodation and include the amount of the travel allowance in the allowance box on your employee's payment summary.

Check the relevant Single Touch Payroll (STP) employer reporting guidelines to see how to report these payments through STP:

• STP Phase 1 employer reporting guidelines – allowances
• STP Phase 2 employer reporting guidelines – allowances

Reasonable travel allowance rate

Each year we publish the amounts we consider reasonable for claims for domestic and overseas travel allowance expenses.

• TD 2021/6 Income tax: what are the reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2021–22 income year?
• TD 2020/5 Income tax: what are the reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2020–21 income year?
• TR 2004/6 Income tax: substantiation exception for reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expenses
• Keeping travel expense records
• Tax return – allowances
• Tax return – work-related travel expenses

Travel Cost Calculator

Quick links, trip pricing calculator.

Travelmath provides an online cost calculator to help you determine the cost of driving between cities. You can use this data to figure out a budget for a road trip. The driving calculation is based on the average fuel efficiency of your vehicle, and you can change the gas mileage in mpg or L/100 km to match your exact make and model. Gas prices are automatically estimated based on current fluctuations, and again you can adjust these to fit your local gas station prices. Both U.S. and international units are available to make the calculations easier to use, and the output is given for both one-way and round trip travel routes.

Check the driving distance for your planned route, and see if the total driving time requires an overnight stay. If it's a long trip, you may want to research some hotels along the way . Or compare whether it's better to fly or drive to your destination.

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ATO Cents Per KM: 2024 Car allowance guide

What is mileage reimbursement, what counts as business mileage.

• driving to meetings or conferences that are for business but not at your typical workplace
• running errands or getting supplies for the business
• traveling from your usual workplace to a secondary or alternate place of business (i.e. a second office or a client’s office for a business meeting)
• traveling between two or more places of employment, for example, if you have more than one job
• going on customer visits

How to use the mileage reimbursement method

• how far they drove (in kms)
• the trip dates
• the trip purpose / business relation

How to use the logbook method

• operate a non-standard vehicle for business purposes, such as a van or motorcycle, or
• drive more than 5,000km for business each year,
• keeping your logbook
• keeping records and receipts of expenses
• calculating your deduction

1. Keeping a logbook.

• the odometer reading at the start and end of each trip
• the destination of each trip
• the business purpose of each trip
• total number of kilometres traveled during each period
• odometer readings for the start and end of the logbook period

2. Keeping records and receipts

• fuel and oil receipts
• registration costs
• car services and regular upkeep
• tires and general repairs

3. Calculating your deduction

To calculate the percentage of business kilometres you drove, use the following formula:, what are the car allowance rates in australia for 2024, is car allowance taxable in australia, frequently asked questions about mileage reimbursement, how many kms can you claim for reimbursement without receipts, as an employee, should i claim mileage deductions on my taxes if i drive for work, as an employer, do i have to reimburse employees for mileage at the set ato rate, what vehicle expenses are tax deductible.

• employees, if your employer doesn’t provide you with a tax-free reimbursement scheme, or
• employers, if you reimburse employees for vehicle expenses using an actual costs method.
• fuel and oil expenses
• vehicle insurances
• lease payments and interest charges
• depreciation value
• car services
• tires and repairs
• electricity charges
• capital costs, i.e. the purchase price of your car
• improvement costs, i.e. tinted windows, winter protection, etc.
• individual expenses if you’re already claiming, or being reimbursed for, mileage using a cents-per-km scheme

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Work-related travel expenses – What can you claim

It does not matter if you are an employee, an employer, a sole trader or run a small business; there might occur some situations when you need to travel for business purposes. The costs incurred in such conditions are classified as work-related expenses.

Work-related travel expenses are usually tax deductible. However, the Australian Taxation Office gets thousands of incorrect claims every year for work travel expenses. As a result, they have started keeping a close eye on the expenses that are being claimed to make sure they are valid.

Understanding how to qualify for such deductions and which expenses can be used to help you optimise your travel costs as well as save money on your taxes is a necessity today. So here’s a guide to help you know everything when it comes to business travel expenses.

What are work-related travel expenses?

According to the ATO, while travelling for work, any purchase you make in regard to this travel is usually claimable as a travel expense on the tax return. The travel can be driving your car to the client’s office situated kilometres away (from your office) or visiting a temporary location for work. Along with this, interstate and overseas travel expenses are also deductible.

Work-related travel expenses include ticket costs or fares for any modes of transportation, tolls, parking, etc, along with meal expenses and accommodation. There are some restrictions as well on what you can claim. We will look into that in the later part of this blog.

Here’s what you can claim:

• Accommodation expenses
• Incidental expenses (like laundry)
• Taxi, bus, train and air fares
• Road and bridge tolls
• Car hire charges
• Parking fees
• Meal expenses (only for overnight travel for work)
• Bags used solely for a work trip

Claiming work-related driving costs

When it comes to travel tax deductions, transport costs are extremely popular. Except for the travel from work to home and vice versa, the cost of work-related travel in your personal car or on a means of public transport is claimable.

What can you claim?

You can claim a deduction for the cost of:

• Travelling between two separate workplaces for different jobs
• Travelling from your workplace to meetings or events offsite
• Travelling from one job to a second job if and when required
• Travelling to a different location, if you work at more than one location for your employer
• For those working from home for a specific period of the day and working in the office for the rest of the working hours (but only for the same employer), the cost of travelling to the workplace is claimable.

You can’t claim a deduction for the cost of:

• The everyday travel from your residence to the workplace and back
• If you work from home for one employer but not for the other employer, your cost of travelling to a second job can’t be claimed.
• Any additional task or work you do on your way back home, for instance, picking up your package

Car parking – Is it a travel expense?

Suppose you had an out-of-office company event or meeting. In order to park your car, you had to pay for parking as you used your own car to get there. In this case, you can claim the cost of the trip and the parking costs.

However, you cannot and should not claim parking or car expenses if you have been reimbursed by your employer.

You cannot claim the cost of everyday parking as well if you drive to work and have to pay for parking near the workplace.

What documentation of work-related travel expenses should you keep for your tax return?

You should keep everything that is relevant to your tax returns. Work-related vehicle charges can be claimed by receipts or tax invoices, which serve as documents supporting a specific order.

However, remember, those fade over time. A logbook can be very useful when claiming employment-related trips.

Travel diary – Do you have to keep one?

Anybody who has to stay away from home for more than six nights consecutively should keep a travel diary. But what should be recorded in a travel diary?

In the travel diary, you can keep a record of what you were doing, where you were and the start and end times of the activities you were engaged in.

It is always a good idea to keep a record of your travel expenses, even when keeping a diary isn’t really required. Since there’s a possibility of you forgetting details about all the expenses made in the months, it can cost you a huge amount in your refund at tax time.

What can’t be claimed?

Since we have discussed what work-related travel expenses can be claimed, now take a look at the expenses that can’t be:

Unless your employer has assigned you to carry bulky tools to work (due to lack of an appropriate place to store them at the workplace), you should not claim a tax deduction on your journey from home to work and back home.

Also, claiming the travel expenses for which you have been reimbursed by your employer is also prohibited.

In case you decide to bring your family along for a business trip, you cannot claim accommodation costs or any travel expenses for them.

Ask your tax agent to know more about what can be claimed or cannot be. If you are looking for good tax accountants in Melbourne,  Clear Tax Accountants  can help you reduce your tax responsibilities and provide the right advice for your tax matters.

Travel allowance

Usually, the travel allowance you receive from your employer is considered taxable income. Thus, it needs to be listed on your income statement. In simpler terms, if you receive a travel allowance, it is going to be included on your tax return as taxable income.

If you spend the money paid to you as travel allowance, claiming a tax deduction against it when the tax time comes is possible. There is a common misconception that the entire allowance can be claimed as a tax deduction even if you haven’t spent all of it. This is not true at all.

Travel records – What to keep

What travel records are worth keeping? There is practically no record that is not worth keeping. You should have all the receipts and records for all the travel expenses related to work, even if you were reimbursed for it.

Record keeping will help you ask your tax agent if you can claim certain work-related travel expenses (in case you are doubtful).

Remember, you can’t claim something if you do not have anything to prove it!

What if you travel for work and then spend an extra few days on holiday at the end of the trip?

When your travel is split between leisure and work, you need to split all your travel expenses between the two as well. You must keep the following two rules in mind in these circumstances:

• The primary purpose of the trip has to be work-related
• You cannot claim any part of the said trip that wasn’t work-related

To understand it better, consider that you had to go on a three-day work-related trip. But you decided to extend your trip by two more days. Since only the first three days were for work, you can claim work-related travel expenses for those days.

You cannot claim the cost for the next two days because you spent the money on your leisure. The accommodation costs incurred in the first three days, the fares of the taxi for travelling to and from (only work-related) and the meal expenses for that time are claimable but not for the remaining two days.

If you want to claim a deduction for any work-related travel expense, you will have to keep a few restrictions in mind. Keeping detailed records of work-related travel expenses will increase your chances of receiving a tax refund.

Disclaimer : The information on this website is for general purposes only and should not be relied upon for making legal or other decisions. The advice provided in this article is general in nature and is not subject to the personal financial situation and needs of any individual. Clear Tax tries to keep the information accurate and up-to-date; however, you should bear in mind with changing circumstances, the accuracy and reliability of the information will not necessarily remain the same. The information is by no means a substitute for financial advice.

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ATO Reasonable Travel Allowances

‘Reasonable’ allowances received in accordance with ATO’s reasonable travel allowances schedules are not required to be declared as income, and can be excluded from the expense substantiation requirements.

Per diem rate schedules of amounts considered reasonable are set out in Tax Determinations published by the Tax Office annually.

Tax Ruling TR 2004/6 describes the substantiation exception for expenses which are in line with the prescribed reasonable allowance amounts.

2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 rates and for prior years are set out below.

The annual determinations set out updated ATO reasonable allowances for each financial year for:

• overtime meal expenses – for food and drink when working overtime
• domestic travel expenses – for accommodation, food and drink, and incidentals when travelling away from home overnight for work
• overseas travel expenses – for food and drink, and incidentals when travelling overseas for work

On this page:

2017- 18-Addendum

More information

Substantiation rules

Substantiation in practice

Alternative: Business travel expense claims

Distinguishing Travelling, Living Away and Accounting for Fringe Benefits

See also: Super for long-distance drivers – ATO

Allowances for 2023-24

The full document in PDF format: 2023-24 Determination TD TD 2023/3 (pdf).

The 2023-24 reasonable amount for overtime meal expenses is $35.65.

Reasonable amounts given for meals for employee truck drivers (domestic travel) are as follows:

• breakfast $28.75
• lunch $32.80
• dinner $56.60

For full details including domestic and overseas allowances in accordance with salary levels, refer to the full determination document:

2023-24 Domestic Travel

Table 1：Salary $138,790 or less

Table 2: Salary $138,791 to $247,020

Table 3: Salary $247,021 or more

Table 4: High cost country centres accommodation expenses

Table 5: Tier 2 country centres

Table 5a: Employee truck driver’s meals (food and drink)

2023-24 Overseas Travel

Table 6: Salary $138,790 or less

Table 7: Salary $138,791 to $247,020

Table 8: Salary $247,021 or more

Table 9: Table of countries

Table 1：Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $138,790 or less

Table 2: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $138,791 to $247,020

Table 3: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $247,021 or more

Table 4: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – high-cost country centres accommodation expenses

Table 5a: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee truck driver’s meals (food and drink)

Table 6: Reasonable amounts for overseas travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $138,790 or less

Table 7: Reasonable amounts for overseas travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $138,791 to $247,020

Table 8: Reasonable amounts for overseas travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $247,021 or more

Allowances for 2022-23

The full document in PDF format: 2022-23 Determination TD 2022/10 (pdf).

The 2022-23 reasonable amount for overtime meal expenses is $33.25.

Reasonable amounts given for meals for employee truck drivers are as follows:

• breakfast $26.80
• lunch $30.60
• dinner $52.75

2022-23 Domestic Travel

Table 1: Salary $133,450 and below

Table 2: Salary $133,451 to $237,520

Table 3: Salary $237,521 and above

2022-23 Overseas Travel

Table 6: Salary $133,450 and below

Table 7: Salary – $133,451 to $237,520

Table 8: Salary – $237,521 and above

Table 1: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $133,450 and below

Table 2: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $133,451 to $237,520

Table 3: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $237,521 and above

Table 4: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – high-cost country centres accommodation expenses

Table 5a: Reasonable amounts for domestic travel expenses – employee truck driver’s meals (food and drink)

Table 6: Reasonable amounts for overseas travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $133,450 and below

Table 7: Reasonable amounts for overseas travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $133,451 to $237,520

Table 8: Reasonable amounts for overseas travel expenses – employee’s annual salary $237,521 and above

Allowances for 2021-22

The full document in PDF format: 2021-22 Determination TD 2021/6 (pdf).

The document displayed with links to each sections is set out below.

For the 2021-22 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal expenses is $32.50

2021-22 Domestic Travel

Table 1: Salary $129,250 and below

Table 2: Salary $129,251 to $230,050

Table 3: Salary $230,051 and above

2021-22 Overseas Travel

Table 6: Salary $129,250 and below

Table 7: Salary – $129,251 to $230,050

Table 8: Salary – $230,051 and above

2021-22 Domestic Table 1: Employee’s annual salary – $129,250 and below

2021-22 Domestic Table 2: Employee’s annual salary – $129,251 to $230,050

2021-22 Domestic Table 3: Employee’s annual salary – $230,051 and above

2021-22 Domestic Table 4: High cost country centres – accommodation expenses

2021-22 Domestic Table 5: Tier 2 country centres

2021-22 Domestic Table 5a: Employee truck driver’s meals (food and drink)

2021-22 Overseas Table 6: Employee’s annual salary – $129,250 and below

2021-22 Overseas Table 7: Employee’s annual salary – $129,251 to $230,050

2021-22 Overseas Table 8: Employee’s annual salary – $230,051 and above

2021-22 Overseas Table 9: Table of countries

Allowances for 2020-21

Download full document in PDF format: 2020-21 Determination TD 2020/5 (pdf).

The document displayed with links to each section is set out below.

For the 2020-21 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal expenses is $31.95 .

2020-21 Domestic Travel

Table 1: Salary $126,970 and below

Table 2: Salary $126,971 to $225,980

Table 3: Salary $225,981 and above

2020-21 Overseas Travel

Table 6: Salary $126,970 and below

Table 7: Salary – $126,971 to $225,980

Table 8: Salary – $225,981 and above

2020-21 Domestic Travel 2020-21 Domestic Table 1: Employee’s annual salary – $126,970 and below

2020-21 Domestic Table 2: Employee’s annual salary – $126,971 to $225,980

2020-21 Domestic Table 3: Employee’s annual salary – $225,981 and above

2020-21 Domestic Table 4: High cost country centres – accommodation expenses

2020-21 Domestic Table 5: Tier 2 country centres

2020-21 Domestic Table 5a: Employee truck driver’s meals (food and drink)

2020-21 Overseas Travel 2020-21 Overseas Table 6: Employee’s annual salary – $126,970 and below

2020-21 Overseas Table 7: Employee’s annual salary – $126,971 to $225,980

2020-21 Overseas Table 8: Employee’s annual salary – $225,981 and above

2020-21 Overseas Table 9: Table of countries

Allowances for 2019-20

The determination in sections:

Domestic Travel

Table 1: Employee’s annual salary – $124,480 and below

Table 2: Employee’s annual salary – $124,481 to $221,550

Table 3: Employee’s annual salary – $221,551 and above

Table 4: High cost country centres – accommodation expenses

Table 5a: Employee truck driver’s meals (food and drink)

Overseas Travel

Table 6: Employee’s annual salary – $124,480 and below

Table 7: Employee’s annual salary – $124,481 to $221,550

Table 8: Employee’s annual salary – $221,551 and above

For the 2019-20 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal expenses is $31.25.

The reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts commencing 1 July 2019 for the 2019-20 income year are contained in Tax Determination TD 2019/11 (issued 3 July 2019).

Download the PDF or view online here .

Domestic Travel Table 1: Employee’s annual salary – $124,480 and below

Domestic Travel Table 2: Employee’s annual salary – $124,481 to $221,550

Domestic Travel Table 3: Employee’s annual salary – $221,551 and above

Domestic Travel Table 4: High cost country centres – accommodation expenses

Domestic Travel Table 5: Tier 2 country centres

Domestic Travel Table 5a: Employee truck driver’s meals (food and drink)

Overseas Travel Table 6: Employee’s annual salary – $124,480 and below

Overseas Travel Table 7: Employee’s annual salary – $124,481 to $221,550

Overseas Travel Table 8: Employee’s annual salary – $221,551 and above

Overseas Travel Table 9: Table of countries

Substantiation and Compliance

Taxation Ruling TR 2004/6 explains the the way in which the expenses can be claimed within the substantiation rules, including the requirement to obtain written evidence and exemptions to that requirement.

Allowances which are ‘reasonable’ , i.e. comply with the Reasonable Allowance determination amounts and with TR 2004/6 are not required to be declared as income and are excluded from the expense substantiation requirements.

These substantiation rules only apply to employees. Non-employees must fully substantiate their travel expense claims. Expenses for non-working accompanying spouses are excluded.

Key points :

To be claimable as a tax deduction, and to be excluded from the expense substantiation requirements, travel and overtime meal allowances must:

• be for work-related purposes; and
• be supported by payments connected to the relevant expense
• for travel allowance expenses, the employee must sleep away from home
• if the amount claimed is more than the ‘reasonable’ amount set out in the Tax Determination, then the whole claim must be substantiated
• employees can be required to verify the facts relied upon to claim a tax deduction and/or the exclusion from the substantiation requirements
• an allowance conforming to the guidelines doesn’t need to be declared as income or claimed in the employee’s tax return, unless it has been itemised on the statement of earnings. Amounts of genuine reasonable allowances provided to employees(excludng overseas accommodation) are not required to be subjected to tax withholdings or itemised on an employee’s statement of earnings.
• claims which don’t match the amount of the allowance need to be declared.

The Tax Office has issued guidance on their position.

[11 August 2021] Taxation Ruling TR 2021/4 reviews the tax treatment of accommodation and food and drink expenses, and provides 14 examples which distinguish non-deductible living expenses from deductible travelling on work expenses. FBT implications for the ‘otherwise deductible’ rule and travel and LAFHA allowances are also considered.

[11 August 2021] Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2021/3 (which finalises draft PCG 2021/D1 ) provides the ATO’s compliance approach to determining if allowances or benefits provided to an employee are travelling on work, or living at a location.

For FBT purposes an employee is deemed to be travelling on work if they are away for no more than 21 consecutive days, and fewer than 90 days in the same work location in a FBT year.

See also: Travel between home and work and LAFHA Living Away From Home

The issue of annual determination TD 2017/19 for the 2017-18 year marked a tightening of the Tax Office’s interpretation of the necessary conditions for the relief of allowances from the substantiation rules, which would otherwise require full documentary evidence (e.g. receipts) and travel records. (900-50(1))

For a full discussion of the issues, this article from Bantacs is recommended: Reasonable Allowance Concessions Effectively Abolished By The ATO .

Prior to 2017-18

In summary: Prior to 2017-18 the Tax Office rulings stated the general position that provided a travel allowance was ‘reasonable’ (i.e. followed the ATO-determined amounts) then substantiation with written evidence was not required. “In appropriate cases”, however employees may have been required to show how their claim was calculated and that the expense was actually incurred.

What changed

The relevant wording was changed in the 2017-18 determination to now require that more specific additional evidence be available if requested. This additional evidence is not prescribed in the tax rules, but represents a higher administrative standard being applied by the Tax Office.

The required evidence includes being able to show:

• you spent the money on work duties (e.g. away from home overnight for work)
• how the claim was worked out (e.g. diary record)
• you spent the money yourself (e.g. credit card statement, banking records)
• you were not reimbursed (e.g. letter from employer)

Other requirements highlighted by the Bantacs article include:

• a representative sample of receipts may be required to show that a reasonable allowance (or part of it) has actually been spent (TD 2017/19 para 20)
• hostels or caravan parks are not considered eligible for the accommodation component of a reasonable allowance because they are not the right kind of “commercial establishment”, examples of which are hotels, motels and serviced apartments (para 14)
• reasonable amounts for meals can only be for meals within the specific hours of travel (not days), and can only be for breakfast, lunch or dinner (para 15), and therefore could exclude, for example, meals taken during a period of night work.

Tip : The reasonable amount for incidentals still applies in full to each day of travel covered by the allowance, without the need to apportion for any part day travel on the first and last day. (para 16).

Alternative: business travel expense claims

With the burden of proof on ‘reasonable allowance’ claims potentially quite high, an alternative is to opt for a travel expense claim made out under the general substantiation rules for employees, or under the general rules for deductibility for businesses.

The kind of business travel expenses referred to here could include:

Airfares Accommodation Meals Car hire Incidentals (e.g. taxi fares)

The Tax Office has an article describing how to meet the requirements for claiming travel expenses as a tax deduction. See: Claiming a tax deduction for business travel expenses

Travel diary

A travel diary is required by sole traders and partners for overnight expenses and recommended for everyone else (including companies and trusts).

It is important to exclude any private portion of travelling expense which is non-deductible, or if paid on behalf of an employee gives rise to an FBT liability.

For example the expenses of a non-business associate (e.g. spouse), the cost of private activities such as sight-seeing, and accommodation and associated expenses for the non-business portion of a trip.

Airfares to and from a business travel destination would not need to be apportioned if the private element of the trip such as sightseeing was only incidental to the main purpose and time spent.

This is an example of a travel diary for Rebecca who owns a business as a sole trader landscape gardener. (courtesy of ATO Tax Time Fact Sheet )

Allowances for 2018-19

For the 2018-19 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal allowance expenses is $30.60 .

The meal-by-meal amounts for employee long distance truck drivers are $24.70, $28.15 and $48.60 per day for breakfast, lunch and dinner respectively.

This determination includes ATO reasonable allowances for

(a) overtime meal expenses – for food and drink when working overtime (b) domestic travel expenses – for accommodation, food and drink, and incidentals when travelling away from home overnight for work (particular reasonable amounts are given for employee truck drivers, office holders covered by the Remuneration Tribunal and Federal Members of Parliament) (c) overseas travel expenses – for food and drink, and incidentals when travelling overseas for work

Allowances for 2017-18

An addendum was issued modifying paragraphs 23 to 30 of determination TD 2017/19 setting out the new reasonable amounts, and consolidated into TD 2017/19 as linked above. For reference purposes, the first-released version of TD 2017/19 issued 3 July 2017 is linked here .

2017-18 Addendum: ATO reinstates the meal-by-meal approach for truck drivers’ travel expense claims

On 27 October 2017 the ATO announced the reinstatement of the meal-by-meal approach for truck drivers who claim domestic travel expenses for meals. The following new reasonable amounts have now been included in an updated version of the current ruling (see on page 7)：

For the 2017-18 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal allowance expenses is $30.05 .

This determination contains ATO reasonable allowances for:

• overtime meals
• domestic travel
• employee truck drivers
• overseas travel
• $24.25 for breakfast
• $27.65 for lunch
• $47.70 for dinner

The amount for each meal is separate and can’t be combined into a single daily amount or moved from one meal to another.

See: ATO media release

Allowances for 2016-17

For the 2016-17 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal allowance expenses is $29.40 .

Allowances for 2015-16

Download the PDF or view online here . For the 2015-16 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal allowance expenses is $ 28.80 .

Allowances for 2014-15

Allowances for 2013-14

The reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2013-14 income year are contained in Tax Determination TD 2013/16 . For the 2013-14 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal allowance expenses is $ 27.70 .

Allowances for 2012-13

The reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2012-13 income year are contained in Tax Determination TD 2012/17 . For the 2012-13 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal allowance expenses is $27.10

Allowances for 2011-12

The reasonable travel and overtime meal allowance expense amounts for the 2011-12 income year are contained in Tax Determination TD 2011/017 . For the 2011-12 income year the reasonable amount for overtime meal allowance expenses is $26.45

This page was last modified 2023-06-28

Money: '£2,000 landed in my account' - The people who say they're manifesting riches

We delve into the world of manifestation - but will a one-day course help our reporter land some extra cash and an engagement ring? Enjoy our weekend reads, and leave a comment, below, and we'll be back with all the latest personal finance and consumer news on Monday.

Saturday 27 April 2024 08:58, UK

Weekend Money

• '£2,000 landed in my account' - The people who say they're manifesting riches
• Iceland's new slogan and cash for grades: What our readers said this week
• Calculate how much your take-home pay will change this month with national insurance reduction
• Why are mortgage rates going up?

Best of the week

• The world of dark tourism - what is it, is it ethical and where can you go?
• Virgin Media customers share their bad experiences of customer service
• More Britons paying inheritance tax after chancellor freezes threshold - so how can you beat it?
• 'More important than a will': What are lasting power of attorneys and how much do they cost?
• 'I have a mortgage offer - will it change now rates are rising?'

Ask a question or make a comment

By Jess Sharp , Money team

My journey into the world of manifestation (the belief that you can attract success in your life through positive affirmations and visualisation) has taken me places I never thought I'd go.

Like a woods in Edenbridge, where I stood meditating under a tree in the pouring rain. I don't yet know where my journey will end (I've been hoping for an engagement ring but my boyfriend hasn't yet seen my visualisations), but it started with a conversation with Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, one of millions and millions of people who say manifestation has transformed their lives.

"About a year ago, there was something happening and I thought we just need two grand to cover the expense," Jamie, a former dancer from London, told me. "The following day £2,000 landed in my account."

It sounded like a coincidence to me, too.

But Jamie was adamant. His husband calls him "the master manifester" because of his "ability to bring in money".

"It's happened on so many occasions, like four, five times," he said. "I've become very clear on what I want and the amount of money I need and literally it can be within 24 hours that I get a phone call for a job and it's almost identical to what I asked for money-wise."

When I asked the now-psychic where the £2,000 actually came from, he said it was payment for a modelling job he had been offered.

"With manifesting you don't get caught up in the how, and often it comes in ways that you don't expect," he added, explaining it could come as the result of a claim after being in a car crash.

"It's not always coming in the way that you think but money is out there for us to take in the world. It's just having the confidence to receive it and we are worthy of it."

"Even if it is a placebo effect, does it matter?" he said.

The 43-year-old also believes he manifested his husband Fiongal after being diagnosed with cancer. While going through treatment and dating "a lot" of people, he decided to take matters into his own hands, or rather his own head, and started visualising his perfect partner.

"I decided to spend a good couple of weeks getting really, really, super clear in my mind what this person looked like. Then I started creating lists asking about personality traits, and all the things that I wanted that person to be," the former dancer said.

"The day I got the all clear from cancer I randomly met my husband and when I look at the list of the things I asked for, he pretty much ticks every single box. I really, really believe that is because I got super clear on what I wanted and I put that out to the universe to bring to me."

Jim Carrey and manifestation

If you think this is a new practice, it isn't. Jim Carrey was doing it back in the 90s. He famously wrote himself a $10m cheque for "acting services rendered" and dated it years in advance. Then in 1995, he was told he was going to make the exact amount for filming Dumb and Dumber.

The idea shot up in popularity again in 2006 after Rhonda Byrne published her self-help book The Secret.

Since then, it has hit every inch of the internet and has resurfaced on TikTok with videos posted under #manifesting accumulating a huge 13 billion views.

I tried to learn manifesting - I felt like an idiot

After hearing Jamie's story and seeing the idea was popular with so many people, I thought it best to try to learn manifestation myself. I mean, who wouldn't want money landing in their account and a work promotion from the universe?

As I stood in the woods, in the pouring rain, being told to imagine roots growing from the soles of my feet, I felt like an idiot.

I was soaking wet (of course I had forgotten a coat with a hood) and while my mind kept wandering through thoughts about being cold, if I'd hit traffic on the way home and how dirty my white trainers were getting, a gentle, soothing voice kept bringing me back to what I was supposed to be thinking about.

"How we are all connected, how the trees and plants produce oxygen that we breathe, and we breathe out carbon dioxide which they need to survive"

While some people focus their manifestation practices on being grateful to the universe, Tansy Jane Dowman believes we need to get "out of our heads, into our bodies", connect with nature and find our true selves before we can practice it successfully.

My meditation in the woods was just one part of a six-hour workshop run by Tansy, which aimed to send me off with a clearer vision of what I truly desired.

Tansy charges anywhere from £25 to £580 for her courses, which range from one-on-one sessions and an online six-week programme, to forest bathing workshops and weekend-long nature retreats.

But some courses have popped up online which cost more than £1,000.

Tansy started practising manifestation in 2018 after going through a difficult period in her life. She eventually quit her job in events management and started teaching others how to do it successfully.

"The way I manifest is not to focus on material wealth or gain. I would ask my clients what an abundant life means to them in terms of feelings, experiences, connections, people and places," she explained.

"The more authentic you are, the more of a beacon you become for those things to find you."

After spending time walking in the rain and meditating under a tree, Tansy and I sat in her dining room and explored some of the happiest moments in my life and the feelings I experienced. It became clear I like feeling accomplished, needed and excited.

We also spoke about challenging times, but the conversation focused on the positives, like how I had overcome them and what I had learned.

"It's so important to bring in your values with manifestation because sometimes we can get really confused with what we want, with social media especially," she told me.

Throughout her house, Tansy has a number of "abundance boards" proudly on display - some she has made with her children, others are from her annual January tradition of setting out her desires for the year.

"I've had some really wonderful goosebump things happen to me. I did a board at the beginning of 2020... I put a picture of a microphone on it. I just thought I really like that image and I didn't immediately place any meaning onto it," she said.

"Then as the world was shutting down for lockdown, I did a press event and I met a lady who worked for Wellbeing Radio and she wondered if I would be interested in trying out as a presenter."

She explained that some people will be very specific with their desires, like selecting a photo of the exact car they want, or the perfect house, but that isn't how manifestation works. There needs to be an element of trust in the universe giving them what they attract.

As we created my abundance board, which Tansy describes as being like a "personal algorithm", she told me to select images and words from heaps of magazines that called to me intuitively.

As you can see from the picture below, mine calls for being "financially fabulous", travelling, getting engaged (coughs loudly in earshot of boyfriend) and living stress-free.

And while I'd love a big cash injection, Tansy explained to me that money is "only a stepping stone to a feeling" and, ultimately, I'm aiming to create an emotion with it.

Manifesters more likely to go bankrupt

While all the manifestation believers I spoke to said there was no downside to the practice, a researcher has been looking into whether it really does pay off.

Based in Australia, Dr Lucas Dixon (who specialises in consumer psychology) created a scale from one to seven to rank a person's strength of belief and found those who practice it are more likely to have been victims of fraud and declared bankruptcy.

He said there was a "danger" that manifesting could become harmful if taken to an extreme level.

He found those who believe in manifesting tend to think more positively and have a confident attitude when it comes to success, and while that can be helpful in business, it can also cause them to take unnecessary risks.

"They weren't more objectively successful in terms of having higher income or higher education attainment," he said.

"We also found that they are more likely to believe in get-rich-quick schemes, more likely to take higher risks... to have risky financial investments and more likely to have investments in cryptocurrency rather than traditional stock."

Using the scale he created, Dr Dixon found those who have "very strong beliefs", ranking at a seven, were 40% more likely to have gone bankrupt.

"The danger comes in a couple of different forms," he said, explaining that a "worst case scenario" could see people getting into financial difficulty by being encouraged to "just look at the positives".

"Someone might say it's not harmful because it is really just thinking positively but I think even that can be harmful because of what you might call an opportunity cost," he said.

"You're spending time, energy and money doing something that doesn't have a lot of evidence behind it. We found it does make you feel good but you don't need to pay thousands to do it."

Okay, so back to me...

I did my manifestation course about a month ago, and I have done as I was instructed - my abundance board is up in sight inside the flat, and I often have a cup of coffee in front of it.

But, so far I'm still using a credit card, the most travelling I've done has been to work and back and there is still no rock on my finger. I have been given an annual pay rise, though, and would say I am less stressed.

Perhaps believing that I'm just doing my best and there's a chance that I'll be rewarded for that one day, eventually, in the future, maybe, is making me feel better... who knows?

Each week, Money blog readers share their thoughts on the subjects we've been covering, and over the last seven days your correspondence has been dominated by these topics...

• Iceland's new slogan
• Rising mortgage rates
• Giving kids cash for grades

Iceland's new catchphrase

We learnt on Monday that Iceland had dropped its tagline "That's why mums go to Iceland", replacing it with "That's why we go to Iceland".

The move was made to reflect the store is for everybody, said brand ambassador Josie Gibson. Readers were split - with some feeling so strongly that they're prepared, they suggest, to sacrifice those frozen Greggs steak bakes forever...

I previously contacted Iceland about their slogan because I didn't think it did single dads justice, as dads can go to Iceland too. Their response was that people understood that it's not just mums that go to Iceland. It's about time they changed the message. Dave T  

Neither I, my wife or my children will shop in Iceland again due to this stupidness and woke attitude. To hell with you [Iceland boss] Richard Walker. John  

Banks hike mortgage rates

This week we reported that high street lenders such as Halifax, TSB, NatWest, Barclays, Leeds Building Society, HSBC and Coventry had all hiked mortgage rates (see 7.33 post for details). 

You said...

With house prices at already extortionate levels, now mortgage rates rising again, is there any hope for first-time buyers? Honestly, the situation is so bleak, people may need to consider other countries. GenZ 

Why would this happen? So many young couples struggling to get on the property ladder. I live in Dorset - a one-bedroom flat costs from £230,000. In Scotland, one can get a beautiful two-bed house for that price. Feel sorry for all couples living down in the South. Need huge deposits. Barbs

Why are they called high-street banks? Most banks in my town have closed. Martin J

Parents offering cash for good grades

A lot of views came in after our feature exploring the positives and negatives of parents incentivising good school grades with cash...

We had scores of comments on this - with a fairly even split...

We did it for our son at GCSE time. We think it made a difference of about a grade on most subjects. Got a two-grade lift on maths. Cost us £350. Thought it was good value as it has taught him how things work in the world. Andy

The whole world is built on a reward system which symbolises access to money commensurate with effort and excellence. The Nobel prize goes with a cash reward! Tom Deggs

Employees are offered incentives for achieving targets, so why not offer kids incentives for better grades? Claire228 

But others had concerns...

I think it puts too much pressure on kids who are under enough pressure at exam time. Parents should encourage their kids to do the best they can, not add to their stress levels. Emma

Children should value their education without it being monetised. My parents expected my brother and I to have the motivation, maturity and self-discipline to work hard for our GCSEs. We both achieved all As and A*s. Eliza 

When I was at school, from 1964-83, my parents never gave me money for good exam results, because "I should want to do well for myself". No matter what my grades were, they said that they would be proud of me if I had tried my best. Cash kills self-motivation. Nicola B 

National insurance was cut this month, for the second time this year, from 10% to 8% on employee earnings between £12,570 and £50,270.

The change, announced by the chancellor in his March budget, impacts around 27 million payroll employees across the UK - starting this pay day.

The cut is worth almost £250 to someone earning £25,000 a year and almost £750 for those earning £50,000

Use our tool below for a rough guide to what tax changes can be expected for most people, as there are other variables not included which might affect how much tax you pay including being in receipt of the blind person's allowance or the marriage allowance. It also assumes you are not self-employed and are under pension age...

There are also national insurance cuts for the self-employed. This includes the scrapping of Class 2 contributions, as well as a reduction of the rate of Class 4 contributions from 9% to 6% for the £12,570 to £50,270 earnings bracket.

These will impact nearly two million self-employed people, according to the Treasury.

While many campaigners welcomed the national insurance announcement last month, they pointed out that the tax burden remains at record high levels for Britons - thanks in part to the threshold at which people start paying income tax being frozen, rather than rising with inflation.

The money story of the week has been mortgage rates - with a host of major lenders announcing hikes amid fears the Bank of England may delay interest rate cuts.

Swap rates - which dictate how much it costs to lend money - have risen on the back of higher than expected US inflation data, and concerns this could delay interest rate cuts there. 

US trends often materialise elsewhere - though many economists are still expecting a base rate cut from 5.25% to 5% in the UK in June.

The reliable Bloomberg reported this week: "Still, while some economists have since scaled back their predictions for BOE cuts, most haven't changed expectations for a summer move.

"Analysts at Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group, Capital Economics and Bloomberg Economics are all among those still anticipating a shift toward easing in June."

The publication also quoted Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank, as saying: "Markets have superimposed the US cycle on the UK, but the US and UK are on very different tracks.

"The UK is coming out of technical recession. Inflation is falling more convincingly. Pay settlements are following inflation expectations. And crucially, real policy rates in the UK will be higher than in the US."

None of this reassurance changes the fact that financial markets, which dictate swap rates, are pricing in delays.

This week's hikes came from Halifax, BM Solutions, TSB, NatWest, Virgin, Barclays, Accord, Leeds Building Society, HSBC and Coventry.

This is what average mortgage rates looked like as of Thursday...

The next Bank of England decision on rates comes on 9 May - and pretty much no one is expecting a cut from the 16-year high of 5.25% at that stage.

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money.

It runs with live updates every weekday - while on Saturdays we scale back and offer you a selection of weekend reads.

Check them out this morning and we'll be back on Monday with rolling news and features.

The Money team is Emily Mee, Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young and Ollie Cooper, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. The blog is edited by Jimmy Rice.

The family home where Captain Sir Tom Moore walked 100 laps to raise nearly £40m for the NHS during the first COVID lockdown is up for sale for £2.25m.

The Grade II-listed Old Rectory is described as a "magnificent seven-bedroom property" by estate agents Fine & Country.

In a video tour of the house, a sculpture of Captain Tom with his walking frame can be seen in the hallway, while a photo of the fundraising hero being knighted by the Queen is on a wall in the separate coach house building.

Introducing the property, an estate agent says in the tour video: "I'm sure you'll recognise this iconic and very famous driveway behind me as it was home to the late Captain Sir Tom Moore who walked 100 laps of his garden, raising over £37m for NHS charities."

It comes less than three months after the demolition of an unauthorised spa pool block in the grounds of the property in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire.

Speaking at an appeal hearing over that spa, Scott Stemp, representing Captain Tom's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband, said the foundation named after the fundraising hero "is to be closed down" following a Charity Commission probe launched amid concerns about its management.

For the full story, click here ...

"Status symbol" pets are being given up by owners who get scared as they grow up, an animal charity has said, with the cost of living possibly paying a part in a rise in separations.

The Exotic Pet Refuge, which homes parrots, monkeys, snakes and alligators among others, says it receives referrals across the country, including from zoos and the RSPCA.

"They're a status symbol. People will say, 'OK, I'll have an alligator or a 10ft boa constrictor'," co-owner Pam Mansfield told the BBC.

"But when the animal gets big, they will get too frightened to handle them, and then the pet has to go."

She added people who want to get rid of the pets sometimes call zoos for help, which then call on her charity.

In some cases, owners don't have licences to own dangerous animals, she says, blaming a "lack of understanding" for what she says is a rise in the number of exotic animals needing to be rehomed.

She says people "just don't have the space" for some snakes, for example, with some growing to as much as 12ft and needing their own room.

The cost of living crisis has also forced owners to give their pets away, she says.

Her charity has also been affected by those increased costs, with the electricity bill rising to £10,000 a month at their highest, to fund things like heated pools for alligators.

Private car parks are accused of "confusing drivers" after introducing a new code of conduct - despite "doing all they can" to prevent an official government version.

The code of practice launched by two industry bodies - British Parking Association and the International Parking Community - includes a ten-minute grace period for motorists to leave a car park after the parking period they paid for ends.

It also features requirements for consistent signage, a single set of rules for operators on private land and an "appeals charter".

Private parking businesses have been accused of using misleading and confusing signs, aggressive debt collection and unreasonable fees.

That comes after a government-backed code of conduct was withdrawn in June 2022, after a legal challenges by parking companies.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "We're flabbergasted that the BPA and the IPC have suddenly announced plans to introduce their own private parking code after doing all they can over the last five years to prevent the official government code created by an act of Parliament coming into force.

"While there are clearly some positive elements to what the private parking industry is proposing, it conveniently avoids some of the biggest issues around caps on penalty charges and debt recovery fees which badly need to be addressed to prevent drivers being taken advantage of."

BPA chief executive Andrew Pester said: "This is a crucial milestone as we work closely with government, consumer bodies and others to deliver fairer and more consistent parking standards for motorists."

IPC chief executive Will Hurley said: "The single code will benefit all compliant motorists and will present clear consequences for those who decide to break the rules."

Sky News has learnt the owner of Superdry's flagship store is weighing up a legal challenge to a rescue plan launched by the struggling fashion retailer.

M&G, the London-listed asset manager, has engaged lawyers from Hogan Lovells to scrutinise the restructuring plan.

The move by M&G, which owns the fashion retailer's 32,000 square foot Oxford Street store, will not necessarily result in a formal legal challenge - but sources say it's possible.

Read City editor Mark Kleinman 's story here...

NatWest says its mortgage lending nearly halved at the start of the year as it retreated from parts of the market when competition among lenders stepped up.

New mortgage lending totalled £5.2bn in the first three months of 2024, the banking group has revealed, down from £9.9bn the previous year.

The group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Coutts, also reported an operating pre-tax profit of £1.3bn for the first quarter, down 27% from £1.8bn the previous year.

An unexplained flow of British luxury cars into states neighbouring Russia continued into February, new data shows.

About £26m worth of British cars were exported to Azerbaijan, making the former Soviet country the 17th biggest destination for UK cars - bigger than long-established export markets such as Ireland, Portugal and Qatar.

Azerbaijan's ascent has coincided almost to the month with the imposition of sanctions on the export of cars to Russia.

Read the rest of economics and data editor Ed Conway 's analysis here...

Rishi Sunak has hailed the arrival of pay day with a reminder his government's additional National Insurance tax cut kicks in this month for the first time.

At last month's budget, the chancellor announced NI will be cut by a further 2p - so some workers will pay 8% of their earnings instead of the 12% if was before autumn.

The prime minister has repeated his claim this will be worth £900 for someone on the average UK salary.

While this additional cut - on top of the previous 2p cut in January - does equate to £900 for those on average full-time earnings of £35,000, there are two key issues with Mr Sunak's claim:

• Once the effect of all income tax changes since 2021 are taken into account, the Institute for Fiscal Studies reports an average earner will benefit from a tax cut of £340 - far less than £900;
• Moreover, anyone earning less than £26,000 or between £55,000-£131,000 will ultimately be worse off.

In short, this is because NI cuts are more than offset by other tax rises.

We explain below how this is the case...

Tax thresholds

This is partly down to tax thresholds - the amount you are allowed to earn before you start paying tax (and national insurance) and before you start paying the higher rate of tax - will remain frozen. 

This means people end up paying more tax than they otherwise would, when their pay rises with inflation but the thresholds don't keep up. 

This phenomenon is known as "fiscal drag" and it's often called a stealth tax because it's not as noticeable immediately in your pay packet.

That low threshold of £12,570 has been in place since April 2021. 

The Office for Budget Responsibility says if it had increased with inflation it would be set at £15,220 for 2024/25.

If that were the case, workers could earn an extra £2,650 tax-free each year.

Less give, more take

Sky News analysis shows someone on £16,000 a year will pay £607 more in total - equivalent to more than three months of average household spending on food. 

Their income level means national insurance savings are limited but they are paying 20% in income tax on an additional £2,650 of earnings.

In its analysis , the IFS states: "In aggregate the NICs cuts just serve to give back a portion of the money that is being taken away through other income tax and NICs changes - in particular, multi-year freezes to tax thresholds at a time of high inflation."

Overall, according to the institute, for every £1 given back to workers by the National Insurance cuts, £1.30 will have been taken away due to threshold changes between 2021 and 2024.

This rises to £1.90 in 2027.

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