United KingdomGOV.UK
SNIJIB lodging allowance rises to £53.40 from 24 August 2026
HMRC lists SNIJIB and BATJIC among agreements with centrally negotiated tax procedures; tax-free lodging payments still depend on the employee meeting the certification conditions.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 31 July 2026
The Scottish and Northern Ireland Joint Industry Board (SNIJIB) lodging or overnight subsistence allowance increases to £53.40 a night from 24 August 2026GOV. HMRC’s Employment Income Manual gives £50.00 a night for the preceding period, 7 July 2025 to 23 August 2026
GOV. Employers applying that agreement should use the rate for the relevant period when checking lodging payments.
HMRC has also added SNIJIB and the Federation of Master Builders (BATJIC) to its list of working rule agreements for which taxation procedures have been negotiated centrallyGOV
GOV. The list directs employers and advisers to EIM71342 for SNIJIB and EIM71341 for BATJIC. These are separate agreements
GOV: the £53.40 figure belongs to the SNIJIB lodging table
GOV.
The BATJIC guidance gives a lodging allowance of £46.89GOV against 20 June 2022 and sets out a separate Daily Fare Allowance table using distance in kilometres. It specifies that the tax-free Daily Fare Allowance is paid one way only. The addition to HMRC’s agreement list should therefore not be read as making the SNIJIB lodging rate applicable to BATJIC payments.
For lodging allowances under working rule agreements, HMRC’s general procedure requires a completed application form certifying that, while incurring extra expenses on lodging away, the operative is also responsible for maintaining dependants at the permanent home address. Certain agreements also require recruitment by an approved method. Employers should retain completed forms for a future compliance review and tax payments where they lack a completed form, unless the additional procedures applyGOV.
Those additional procedures allow single employees without dependants to receive lodging allowances without deduction of taxGOV if they certify that they incur extra expenditure on lodging away, remain liable for maintaining the permanent residence where they live when not away for work, and own that residence freehold or leasehold, or rent it under a written commercial agreement carrying continuing financial obligations while away. HMRC says this procedure can also apply to married employees without dependants actually living at the permanent residence.
The applicable HMRC guidance is its list of working rule agreements and Employment Income Manual EIM71341 and EIM71342, with lodging certification procedures in EIM71307 and EIM71310.
Check SNIJIB lodging payments from 24 August 2026 against £53.40 per night and verify the required employee certification before treating them as tax-free.
Sources
- Tax treatment of working rule agreements: rates of allowances paid under particular agreements: Scottish and Northern Ireland Joint Industry Board (SNIJIB)
- Tax treatment of working rule agreements: list of agreements
- Tax treatment of working rule agreements: lodging allowances
- Tax treatment of working rule agreements: rates of allowances paid under particular agreements: Federation of Master Builders (BATJIC)
- Tax treatment of working rule agreements: lodging allowances: single employees without dependants