Pook v Owen [1970] AC 244

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

1. Whether travel costs between an employee’s home work area and multiple work sites are deductible as expenses “entirely and exclusively” incurred for work.
2. 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.