Mypay Limited v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 2 June 2026
Neutral citation: [2026] UKFTT 807 (TC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
MyPay, an umbrella employer, appealed HMRC assessments that travel‑expense reimbursements to its workers for assignment travel were taxable and subject to NICs. The Tribunal found each fixed‑period assignment created a separate employment (no overarching contract across gaps) and that the travel payments were ordinary commuting expenses not deductible under s338 and not covered by MyPay’s 2008 s65 dispensation. The appeal was dismissed and the HMRC determinations were upheld.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: medium
Where the written terms are non‑specific and core contractual matters (such as assignment length, pay and work) are agreed assignment‑by‑assignment, the absence of mutual obligations to provide and accept work during gaps means there is no single continuous employment spanning assignments; each assignment gives rise to a separate contract. Likewise, a dispensation that expressly excludes home‑to‑office travel and applies only to expenses necessarily incurred while away from the normal place of work does not cover ordinary commuting reimbursements to workers travelling to assignment workplaces.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The Tribunal observed that documents styled as “terms of employment” can nonetheless operate as a framework agreement if commercial reality shows assignments determine the core terms, and that post‑hoc surveys carried out long after the relevant period and without opportunity for tribunal clarification attract little weight.