Junior doctors: could your journey to hospital qualify for tax relief?

Junior doctors often travel far more than employees in a typical office job. A training programme may involve different hospitals, community sites, clinics, teaching centres and temporary placements, sometimes across a wide geographical area. That can make travel expensive, particularly where fuel, parking, rail fares or overnight stays are involved.

But does travelling to hospital count as ordinary commuting, or can it qualify for tax relief?

For Junior doctors, the answer depends heavily on the employment contract and the tax definition of the workplace. Two doctors doing similar clinical work at different hospitals can have different tax outcomes simply because one is employed separately by each NHS Trust while the other remains under one overarching employment contract.

This distinction matters because HMRC normally gives no tax relief for ordinary commuting between home and a permanent workplace. However, travel to a temporary workplace can qualify where the conditions are met. Junior doctors therefore need to look beyond the fact that a placement is described as a “rotation” and examine how the employment is actually structured.

This guide explains the main principles, the particular HMRC position for rotational training, the 24-month rule, mileage relief, public transport and subsistence, and the records Junior doctors should retain before making a claim.

Junior doctors and the basic travel rule

Junior doctors should begin with the general rule applying to employees: the normal cost of travelling between home and a permanent workplace is private commuting. It does not become tax-deductible simply because the journey is long, expensive, inconvenient or required in order to attend work.

That means Junior doctors cannot automatically claim fuel, train fares, parking or other costs just because their hospital is 30, 50 or even 100 miles from home. Distance on its own does not turn commuting into business travel.

The key question for Junior doctors is whether the destination is a permanent workplace or a temporary workplace for tax purposes.

A permanent workplace is broadly somewhere an employee attends regularly in performing the duties of the employment, subject to specific statutory rules. Travel from home to that workplace is normally ordinary commuting.

For Junior doctors, a temporary workplace is different. Where attendance is for a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose, the journey may qualify as business travel, provided none of the rules that deem the workplace permanent apply.

For Junior doctors, those rules can become particularly important because medical training often involves structured placements at several locations.

Junior doctors on rotational contracts: HMRC’s specific approach

HMRC has specific guidance dealing with doctors undertaking rotational training. This is especially useful because it addresses the exact situation faced by many Junior doctors.

HMRC describes a common arrangement where Junior doctors work at several hospitals during a centrally administered training programme. If each hospital is operated by a separate NHS Trust and the doctor is employed separately by each Trust for the relevant placement, HMRC’s view is that each hospital is normally a permanent workplace for that employment.

In practical terms, Junior doctors in that situation would generally not receive tax relief for the cost of travelling from home to the hospital. The fact that the succession of employments forms part of a broader training programme does not by itself convert those journeys into business travel.

This can surprise Junior doctors who regard themselves as being on one continuous medical training pathway. For tax purposes, however, the separate contracts matter.

For Junior doctors, HMRC also recognises a less common arrangement under which the whole training programme takes place under one contract of employment. In that case, where each hospital is attended for a limited period and the other conditions are satisfied, the hospital may be a temporary workplace.

That can change the result significantly for Junior doctors. If the hospital is genuinely a temporary workplace, travel from home to that hospital can potentially qualify for tax relief.

The difference is therefore not simply “rotation versus no rotation”. For Junior doctors, the real comparison is often “separate employment for each placement versus one continuing employment covering the rotations”.

The 24-month rule and why expectations matter

Junior doctors also need to understand the 24-month rule.

A workplace that would otherwise be temporary can become permanent where an employee attends it as part of a period of continuous work lasting, or expected to last, more than 24 months.

HMRC generally treats work as being performed to a significant extent at a workplace where 40% or more of the employee’s working time is spent there.

So, for Junior doctors, a hospital may stop being temporary if they are expected to spend at least 40% of their working time there over a period exceeding 24 months.

The word “expected” is important. Junior doctors do not always have to wait until month 25 before the tax treatment changes.

For Junior doctors, this means rotation extensions, programme changes or changes in anticipated placement length can affect an existing claim.

The reverse is also important. For Junior doctors, merely being employed on a contract lasting less than 24 months does not guarantee relief. The fixed-term appointment rules can override the temporary workplace treatment where a person is expected to spend all or almost all of the employment at that workplace.

Junior doctors therefore need to consider the 24-month rule alongside the fixed-term employment rule rather than treating it as a standalone test.

What travel costs could potentially qualify?

Where the journey is genuinely business travel, Junior doctors may be able to obtain tax relief on qualifying costs they personally bear and are not fully reimbursed for.

Potential costs include public transport, qualifying mileage in a privately owned vehicle, parking charges, tolls and congestion charges. Necessary hotel accommodation and food may also qualify where an overnight stay is required as part of qualifying business travel.

Junior doctors should remember that tax relief is not the same as receiving the full cost back.

If £1,000 of expenditure qualifies and Junior doctors receive relief at 20%, the tax saving would generally be £200. Someone receiving relief at 40% would generally save £400, subject to the tax actually paid and the person’s overall circumstances.

This is another area where Junior doctors can misunderstand online claims. A “£2,000 expense claim” does not automatically mean a £2,000 repayment from HMRC.

Driving your own car

For the 2026/27 tax year, the approved mileage rate for an employee using their own car or van for qualifying business travel is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p per mile thereafter.

That increase from the previous 45p first-tier rate is relevant to Junior doctors making claims for the current tax year.

If an employer pays less than the approved amount, Junior doctors may be able to claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the qualifying shortfall.

For example, assume 4,000 qualifying business miles are driven during 2026/27 and the employer reimburses 30p per mile.

The approved amount would be £2,200 at 55p per mile. Reimbursement would be £1,200. The potential mileage allowance relief would therefore be based on the £1,000 difference, rather than the doctor receiving another £1,000 automatically.

Junior doctors should also avoid adding fuel, insurance, repairs, MOT costs or vehicle tax on top of the approved mileage amount when using the mileage basis. The mileage rate is intended to cover the cost of owning and running the vehicle.

The approved rates for motorcycles and bicycles are different, so Junior doctors using those forms of transport should apply the relevant rate.

Overnight stays, meals and subsistence

Junior doctors can face overnight stays where a temporary placement is too far from home or where duties require attendance away from the normal base.

Where the travel itself qualifies and an overnight stay is necessary, reasonable accommodation and necessary subsistence costs can potentially form part of the allowable business travel expense.

HMRC’s guidance recognises that travel expenses can include necessary meals bought during business travel and accommodation where an overnight stay is needed.

However, Junior doctors should distinguish additional costs caused by business travel from ordinary living costs.

For example, choosing to stay in a hotel for personal convenience does not automatically make the cost deductible. Likewise, the ordinary cost of food prepared at home is not generally transformed into a business expense simply because it is eaten during a working day.

Junior doctors claiming hotel and meal expenses should retain proper receipts showing the date and the supplier. Evidence becomes particularly important where the amounts are material or the claim covers several placements.

If the employer has already reimbursed the full qualifying cost, Junior doctors cannot normally claim the same expense again from HMRC. If only part is reimbursed, relief may be available on the eligible unreimbursed balance.

Travel between hospitals during the working day

Not every travel question concerns the journey from home.

Junior doctors may be required to travel from one hospital to another, from a hospital to a clinic, or between sites while performing the duties of the same employment.

Where the journey is required by the employment and is between workplaces in the performance of duties, it can generally be much easier to identify as business travel than ordinary home-to-work commuting.

For example, if Junior doctors begin a working day at Hospital A and are then required to travel to Hospital B for duties, the travel between the locations may qualify even where Hospital A itself is a permanent workplace.

The exact facts still matter, including whether the employer reimburses the journey and whether the second site is attended for business duties.

Junior doctors should therefore keep separate records for home-to-work journeys and workplace-to-workplace journeys rather than combining every mile into one total.

What evidence should be kept?

Junior doctors making a travel claim should expect to support it with evidence.

A strong file may include the employment contract, rotation programme, placement letters, dates at each hospital, details of the employing Trust, mileage logs, public transport tickets, parking receipts, hotel invoices and evidence of employer reimbursements.

For mileage claims, HMRC currently requires detailed journey records, including the reason for the journey and start and end postcodes.

Junior doctors should ideally maintain those records contemporaneously rather than reconstructing a year of journeys shortly before filing a claim.

A useful mileage log can record the date, starting point, destination, purpose, miles travelled, employing organisation, amount reimbursed by the employer and the unreimbursed amount.

Junior doctors with several employments should keep the journeys separated by employment. That can be particularly important where one contract creates a permanent workplace while another potentially involves qualifying temporary workplace travel.

Good records also help Junior doctors identify when a placement extension changes the expected duration of attendance and therefore may affect relief from that point onward.

How to claim the tax relief

Junior doctors who are eligible can claim employment expense relief through the appropriate HMRC route.

If Junior doctors complete a Self Assessment tax return, the claim should normally be made through that return.

For employment expense claims of £2,500 or less for a tax year, HMRC also provides the P87 route, subject to its conditions. Claims can generally be made for the current tax year and the previous four tax years where the statutory requirements are met.

Junior doctors should not simply submit the maximum figure they have seen on social media. The claim should reflect qualifying expenditure, less any reimbursement received.

HMRC may adjust the PAYE tax code for a current-year claim or issue relief in another appropriate way for an earlier year.

Before claiming, Junior doctors should also confirm that they paid enough Income Tax in the relevant year. Tax relief cannot exceed the tax that can legally be relieved.

Common mistakes Junior doctors should avoid

The first mistake is assuming every rotation is temporary. Junior doctors can be on a rotational training programme and still have a permanent workplace where each placement is a separate employment.

The second is relying only on the 24-month rule. Junior doctors may have a placement of only twelve months but still fail the temporary workplace test where the workplace is attended for all or almost all of that fixed-term employment.

The third is claiming the full cost of ordinary commuting. Junior doctors cannot convert home-to-permanent-workplace travel into business travel because of distance, unsocial hours, limited public transport or the cost of parking.

The fourth is claiming mileage and actual vehicle running costs for the same journeys. Junior doctors using approved mileage rates should not add fuel, insurance and repairs separately.

The fifth is ignoring employer reimbursements. Junior doctors can only claim relief on qualifying costs that have not already been fully reimbursed.

The sixth is keeping weak evidence. Junior doctors may struggle to support a genuine claim if they have no contracts, placement dates, mileage log or proof of expenditure.

The seventh is treating every course and exam as deductible. Junior doctors should assess training expenses under the relevant employment expense rules rather than assuming all professional development qualifies.

A practical checklist before making a claim

Before submitting anything to HMRC, Junior doctors should answer the following questions.

1. Who was the legal employer for each placement?
2. Was there one continuing employment contract or a new employment for each Trust?
3. Which hospitals or sites were attended under each employment?
4. How long was attendance at each site expected to last?
5. Was at least 40% of working time expected to be spent there for more than 24 months?
6. Did a fixed-term employment last for essentially the same period as attendance at the hospital?
7. Did a rotation change produce a substantial change in the journey?
8. Which journeys were home-to-work and which were workplace-to-workplace?
9. What mileage, rail fares, parking, tolls, hotels or subsistence costs were personally paid?
10. How much did the employer reimburse?
11. Are contracts, rotas, receipts and mileage logs available?
12. Does the claim relate to the current year or an earlier year still within the time limit?

Junior doctors who can answer those points clearly are in a much better position to assess whether a claim is supportable.

Final thoughts

Junior doctors can incur thousands of pounds a year travelling between home, hospitals and other clinical sites, but the tax treatment is driven by legislation rather than by the practical burden of the journey.

The most important point is that Junior doctors should not assume all hospital travel qualifies and should not assume all hospital travel is ordinary commuting either.

Where each placement is a separate employment and Junior doctors work at one hospital for that employment, the hospital will commonly be a permanent workplace and home-to-hospital travel will not qualify.

Where Junior doctors remain under one continuing employment covering a series of genuinely temporary hospital placements, a different result may be possible, subject to the 24-month rule, fixed-term appointment rules and the wider temporary workplace legislation.

Junior doctors should therefore review the contract first, the workplace second and the expenses third.

The potential claim may include qualifying mileage, public transport, parking, tolls and, in the right circumstances, necessary accommodation and subsistence. But relief is only available on qualifying expenditure that has not already been reimbursed.

Most importantly, Junior doctors should keep evidence while the rotations are happening. Contracts, placement schedules and mileage logs are much easier to collect in real time than several years later.

If there is uncertainty, Junior doctors should obtain advice before submitting a claim, particularly where multiple NHS Trusts, changing contracts, long placements or substantial travel expenses are involved. A properly reviewed claim can help ensure that legitimate relief is not missed while reducing the risk of claiming ordinary commuting costs that HMRC would disallow.

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