An employee who is auditor at an accounting firm must travel to various of the firm's clients in a year for engagements of approximately one to two weeks per client. Is the allowance received by the employee from the firm for travel in the course of these engagements taxable?
After repeating its position that “personal travel includes travel between the employee's home and ‘regular place of employment’,” and noting that “regular place of employment” was described in T4130 as including “a client's premises when an employee reports there daily for a six month project” and “a client's premises if the employee has to attend biweekly meetings there,” and before noting that it could only make general comments, CRA stated:
If the place of business of a client of the firm constitutes a "regular place of employment " for the auditor, the travel between the auditor’s residence and the place of business of that client is considered personal travel and is therefore not considered travel "in the performance of the duties of the employee’s office or employment". Consequently, the allowance received from the firm by the auditor in the year for this travel must be included in the auditor’s income by virtue of paragraph 6(1)(b).