Facts
- Mr. Pook, a lawyer, lived outside London and designated part of his home as a work area.
- He served as a Recorder, which required him to travel to various courts in different regions.
- His work duties were split between his home work area and multiple court locations.
- The dispute arose over whether travel costs between his home work area and courts could be deducted under Schedule D of the Income Tax Act 1952.
- The case examined if the home area qualified as a genuine workplace rather than a space for personal use.
Issues
- Whether travel costs between an employee’s home work area and multiple work sites are deductible as expenses “entirely and exclusively” incurred for work.
- Whether a home can be treated as a legitimate workplace for tax purposes, distinguishing such travel from ordinary home-to-work commuting.
Decision
- The House of Lords held that travel costs between Mr. Pook’s home work area (a recognized work site) and various courts required by his Recorder duties could be deductible.
- Travel between a genuine home work site and multiple workplaces was distinct from commuting to a fixed workplace.
- The costs were found allowable as they were incurred “entirely and exclusively” for the performance of work duties.
- If the home area had not served as a real work site, such travel costs would have been disallowed as ordinary commuting.
- The decision was contrasted with previous cases that denied such deductions for travel to a fixed workplace.
Legal Principles
- Expenses are only deductible if incurred “entirely and exclusively” for work purposes under Schedule D of the Income Tax Act 1952.
- Travel between a home-based genuine workplace and multiple external work sites required by employment may be an allowable expense.
- Ordinary home-to-workplace commuting remains non-deductible unless the home is demonstrably a workplace.
- Comparative case law (e.g., Ricketts v Colquhoun) distinguished where claims were rejected for travel to a single fixed workplace.
Conclusion
Pook v Owen [1970] AC 244 clarified that travel costs from a bona fide home workplace to various work sites required by the job may be deductible, provided the home functions as a genuine work site and the travel is solely for required work duties rather than ordinary commuting.
