Conferences & seminars

Conditions

• For the self-employed, the attendance fee for a conference or seminar is an allowable revenue cost where the event updates or extends your knowledge or skills within the business you already carry on. This sits squarely within HMRC's 2024 revised guidance at BIM35660, which treats acquiring new knowledge within the existing business area as a revenue — not capital — expense.
• Travel to and from the conference venue is allowable under the normal business travel rules: it is business travel away from base rather than ordinary commuting. Accommodation and subsistence incurred attending follow the standard rules for business travel. Keep receipts and record the business purpose of the trip.
• Where a conference package includes a dinner, drinks reception, or social activity that goes beyond the main educational programme, the entertainment element is disallowed. The attendance fee and refreshments provided during sessions are fine. If the entertainment cost is bundled into the overall ticket price, ask the organiser for a breakdown or make a reasonable apportionment — and claim only the educational portion.
• For a limited company, conference fees paid by the company for directors or employees attending events relevant to the company's trade are allowable against Corporation Tax. Travel and accommodation paid by the company are also deductible as business expenses.
• For employees: where the employer pays or reimburses conference fees, the work-related training exemption under section 250 ITEPA 2003 applies — no income tax or Class 1 NIC arises. The exemption also covers reasonable associated travel and subsistence. Where an employee pays their own conference fees without reimbursement, the strict 'wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties' test applies. This is rarely satisfied for conference attendance — attending a conference is preparation for, or background to, employment duties rather than the performance of them.

Common mistakes

• Claiming the entertainment portion of a conference package — a gala dinner or drinks reception is disallowed even if bundled into the overall ticket price. Where possible, obtain a cost breakdown from the organiser.
• Forgetting that travel and accommodation to reach the conference are separately allowable under business travel and accommodation rules — these are not part of the conference fee claim.
• Claiming attendance at a conference in a field unrelated to the existing business — the relevance test still applies and a tenuous connection is not enough.
• Employees claiming personal relief for self-funded conference tickets — the strict 'in performance of duties' test is almost never met for conference attendance.

What to keep

• Invoice or booking confirmation for the conference attendance fee, showing the event name and date.
• Programme or agenda confirming the professional or trade content of the event.
• Receipts for travel and subsistence incurred while attending (these are claimed separately under business travel and subsistence).
• Where a conference package includes entertainment, any breakdown of costs from the organiser, or your own apportionment workings.

Real-world example

A self-employed UX designer pays £600 to attend a two-day industry conference. The registration fee is an allowable trading cost. She travels by train (claimable under business travel), stays one night at a nearby hotel (claimable under accommodation), and buys meals on the conference day (claimable as subsistence). The optional conference dinner on the second evening is a separately ticketed event at £75 — that cost is disallowed as entertainment.

Frequently asked

Related allowances