Can I claim expenses when working through a payroll umbrella company?

The short answer is yes! If your end-client has approved them, then you should be able to claim expenses when employed by a payroll umbrella company. Each payroll umbrella company has their own claims process, so we recommend speaking to your payroll manager to determine exactly how to claim expenses for the payroll umbrella company you are employed through.

Below, you will find some frequently asked questions about how Competex Pro handles employee expenses and what to do in each circumstance.

When are expense claims agreed?

When negotiating the terms of the contract, the worker and the end-client must agree on which expenses will be reimbursed for the assignment. The arrangement is then communicated in detail to Competex Pro prior to contracts being signed, with information around how often the claims can be submitted and paid.

Can everyone claim expenses for their assignment? 

Whether the worker can claim expenses relating to their assignment depends entirely on what has been agreed with the end-client.In some cases, the worker may have agreed to be paid a flat fee, inclusive of all incidental expenses.

Do I pay tax and national insurance on expenses?

HMRC rules determine which expenses are allowable for tax and NI. It may be that certain expenses are approved by the end-client that are not allowable by HMRC. In these cases, they would not be paid to the worker free of tax and NI, but added to the assignment rate and subjected to all the usual statutory deductions. For an overview of how deductions work, see our Employee Pay infographic within our downloadable e-guide.

If a flat fee has been agreed for the assignment that includes expenses, the entire fee is subjected to the usual deductions, so the expenses would not be paid to the worker free of tax and NI.

How do I submit my expense claims?

You need to provide your expenses to Competex Pro using a suitable expense claim form, and you must attach or email scanned copies of invoices or receipts for each line item as appropriate.

Once registered with Competex Pro, you will find our detailed Expense Policy in your employee portal.

Now that we’ve explained how expense claims can be submitted and paid, contact the team at Competex Pro at hello@competexpro.co.ukfor a friendly chat, and we’ll advise how a payroll umbrella company can be of further benefit to you.