Members of Parliament

By Tolley

The following Employment Tax guidance note by Tolley provides comprehensive and up to date tax information covering:

Members of Parliament
Travel and subsistence expenses
Travel and subsistence by Ministers
Accommodation expenses
Termination payments

There are a number of special tax rules that apply to Members of Parliament (MPs). In the main, they provide exemptions for the various kinds of travel and subsistence expenses and other allowances paid to Westminster MPs, and as appropriate, to Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and the National Assembly for Wales.

Travel and subsistence expenses

Members of Parliament

Members of the UK Parliament are entitled to claim expenses in respect of:

•UK travel they undertake in order to allow them to carry out their parliamentary duties
•evening meals taken on the Parliamentary Estate when the MP has to be present because the House is sitting beyond 7:30 PM
•travel by their spouse between their London-area accommodation and the constituency, if the spouse and the MP share caring responsibilities
•European travel to and from an EU institution or agency or the national parliament of another Member State, of a candidate or applicant country or of any other country that is a member of the Council of Europe

See Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, s 5 (subscription sensitive).

Tax and NIC treatment

All of the above expenses are exempt from both tax and NIC. See ITEPA 2003, ss 293A and 294, and SI 2001/1004, Sch 3, para 16.

Members of the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly

MSPs are entitled to claim tr