Lee Sharpe explains why HMRC’s apparent new-found largesse in terms of proprietors’ training costs may well amount to less than the sum of all its parts.
In last month’s article, I set out the background to HMRC’s long-standing policy concerning income tax relief for business proprietors’ own training costs. I went back as far as 1991 – not as arduous as it might sound because nothing had really changed in the more than 30 years since then, until 2024.
A great many wise and good tax practitioners have remarked on the apparent change in approach. But you know I’ll kick the tyres and check the car’s teeth first. As I warned in the first article, I reserve the right for history to prove I have misunderstood this very new guidance.
Why did HMRC change its guidance?
Ostensibly, HMRC changed its guidance because the
