What expenses can I claim if I work from multiple locations?

Introduction: why “multiple locations” changes the expense question

If your working life looks like a patchwork of places—home some days, a client site on others, a coworking space when you need focus, and maybe a café when you’re between meetings—you’ve probably asked the same practical question: what expenses can I legitimately claim? The answer depends less on how modern your work style is and more on a few core principles: why the cost was incurred, whether it was necessary for your work, and how well you can separate business use from personal benefit.

Working from multiple locations can increase the number of legitimate, work-related costs you incur, but it also increases the risk of blurred boundaries. A train ticket might be clearly business-related, but what about the lunch you bought while traveling? Your home internet? The monthly coworking membership you sometimes use? Or the extra mobile data you needed to tether your laptop on a day you worked from a different city?

This article walks through common expense categories for people who work from more than one place. It also highlights the documentation and habits that make claims cleaner and less stressful. Because tax and employment rules vary by country and by your working arrangement (employee vs contractor vs business owner), treat this as a framework to help you identify what might be claimable and how to think about it, rather than a promise that every item will be accepted in every situation.

Start with the big question: are you an employee or self-employed?

Before you list out receipts, clarify what “claim” means in your case. If you’re an employee, you may be “claiming” expenses back from your employer under a company policy. You may also be claiming certain costs for tax relief, but employee tax-deductible expenses are often more restricted than business expenses.

If you’re self-employed (sole trader, freelancer, contractor) or running a company, “claiming” usually means deducting legitimate business expenses from business income to work out taxable profit. In many systems, business deductions are broader, provided you can show the cost was incurred wholly and exclusively for business (or you can apportion between business and personal use).

If you’re both—say, employed part-time and freelancing on the side—separate your expense tracking by role. An expense might be claimable for your freelance work even if it wouldn’t be claimable as an employee, and mixing them can create confusion.

Define your work locations (and your “base”)

When you work from multiple locations, it helps to define them in practical terms, because the nature of each location affects what costs are reasonable.

Common setups include:

Home as a regular work location: you do a meaningful portion of work from home (not just occasional email checks).

Employer’s office or main site: you attend periodically, even if you’re remote-first.

Client sites: you travel to different sites for meetings, installations, projects, or shifts.

Coworking spaces: you pay for a desk, membership, or meeting rooms.

Temporary or “third” locations: cafés, libraries, hotels, or a friend’s place while you wait for a train.

The “base” concept matters especially for travel costs. Many tax systems distinguish between commuting to a normal workplace (often not deductible) and travel that is part of your work duties (often deductible). If you have multiple “normal” workplaces, or your home is your base of operations, it changes how travel is treated. The more intentional you are about defining your base and your regular pattern, the easier it is to justify claims.

The golden rules of claimable expenses

Even though the details differ across jurisdictions and policies, most legitimate expense claims follow the same logic. A cost is more likely to be claimable if it is:

Necessary: it was needed to do your job or run your business, not just “nice to have.”

Reasonable: the amount makes sense for the purpose (for example, a modest hotel when traveling for work, rather than a luxury suite without a business reason).

Documented: you can show what it was, when it was incurred, and why it was for work.

Not personal: or, if partly personal, you can split the cost fairly and claim only the work-related portion.

Consistent: with your work arrangement and with how you normally operate.

When working from multiple locations, “apportionment” (splitting business and personal use) becomes a recurring theme. Instead of trying to make everything 100% business, aim to be accurate and defensible.

Travel and transport between locations

Travel is often the first category people think of when they work across locations. The key question is whether the journey is business travel or ordinary commuting. Business travel is generally easier to justify if you are traveling between work locations during the workday, traveling to temporary work sites, traveling to meet clients, or traveling because your work requires it.

Public transport: trains, buses, tubes, trams, ferries

If you’re moving between work locations for work reasons—home to client site, coworking to client site, office to meeting—tickets are often claimable (either reimbursable by your employer or deductible for a business). Keep the ticket receipt or digital confirmation and note the purpose of the trip. If you buy season tickets or travel passes, consider whether they cover both personal and business travel. If so, you may need to apportion.

Mileage and car expenses

If you use your own vehicle to travel between work locations, you may be able to claim mileage or a portion of vehicle running costs, depending on your system and whether you’re claiming from an employer or as a business. Typical claimable elements include fuel, parking, tolls, and sometimes a standard mileage rate that is intended to cover wear and tear, insurance, maintenance, and depreciation.

Multiple-location work can create lots of “in-between” journeys. Record them. A simple mileage log should include the date, start point, destination, distance, and business purpose. If your car is used personally too, avoid claiming anything without a clear method to separate business from personal travel.

Taxis and ride-hailing

Taxis and ride-hailing can be claimable when they are a practical or necessary way to travel for work (for example, when carrying equipment, traveling late at night for safety, or when public transport would cause you to miss a client appointment). If you use them regularly, be prepared to justify why they are needed rather than a preference.

Flights and long-distance travel

If your work takes you to different cities or countries, flights and long-distance travel can be claimable when the trip is primarily for business. Keep itineraries, boarding passes, and receipts. If you extend the trip for personal reasons, you may need to split costs (for example, paying personally for extra nights, or not claiming personal activities). The cleaner you keep the business portion, the less stressful the claim.

Accommodation when working away from home

Hotels, serviced apartments, or short-term stays can be claimable when you must stay overnight to perform your work. This is common when you work across regions, visit client sites far away, attend conferences, or have multiple work locations that are not within a practical daily commute.

Keep itemized hotel bills. Mini-bar snacks and entertainment may not be claimable even if the room is. If you book accommodation that includes personal upgrades, claim only the baseline business portion. If you share accommodation with family or friends, apportion accordingly.

Meals and subsistence while traveling

Meals are a frequent gray area. A helpful guideline is whether you incurred the meal because you were traveling for work and couldn’t reasonably eat at home or your usual base. If you’re on an overnight business trip, meals are often treated as part of subsistence. If you’re away for a long day at a temporary site, you may be able to claim reasonable meals.

What is typically harder to justify is claiming everyday lunches bought near your regular workplace, or meals that look more like personal lifestyle choices than travel necessities. If you work from multiple locations, avoid trying to claim “normal” food costs just because you were not at your desk at home that day. When in doubt, ask: would you have bought this anyway if you weren’t working? If the honest answer is yes, it may not be a strong claim.

Parking, tolls, congestion charges

Parking fees at client sites, coworking spaces, or temporary workplaces are often claimable if the underlying trip is business-related. Tolls, congestion charges, and bridge fees are similar. Keep receipts and ensure the trip is logged.

Home office expenses when home is one of your locations

If you work from home part of the time, you may be able to claim certain home office expenses. The big challenge is that your home is inherently personal, so only the work-related portion can be claimed, and only where working from home is a genuine work arrangement rather than an occasional convenience.

Utilities and household costs

Potentially claimable home office costs can include a portion of:

Electricity and heating (especially if you work from home regularly)

Water (less common, but potentially relevant depending on rules)

Internet and phone (if used for work)

Rent or mortgage interest (in some systems, a portion may be allowable for business use)

Home insurance (sometimes apportionable)

Repairs and maintenance related to the work area (more likely if specifically for the office)

Apportionment is typically based on space and time. For example, you might calculate the percentage of your home used as an office and the proportion of time it’s used for work. If the room is also used as a guest bedroom, you may need a more conservative split than if it’s dedicated.

Furniture and equipment for home working

Desks, chairs, monitors, keyboards, printers, and ergonomic equipment can be claimable if they are necessary for work and used for work. If you buy premium items, make sure you can explain the business reason (for example, a chair purchased to reduce back pain and support long hours). If equipment is used personally too (for example, a monitor for gaming), claim only the business portion if required by your system.

Consumables: paper, ink, small supplies

Home working often involves small, recurring purchases: printer ink, notebooks, pens, cables, batteries, postage, and similar items. These are usually straightforward if they are clearly used for work. Keep receipts and, if necessary, separate personal stationery from business purchases to avoid messy apportionment.

Can you claim a portion of your rent or mortgage?

This is one of the most sensitive areas. In many places, employees face strict limits on claiming home costs, and claiming a portion of mortgage interest or rent can have implications beyond tax, such as affecting capital gains treatment when you sell your home. For businesses, it may be possible to claim a portion, but it should be calculated carefully and kept consistent year to year. If you’re considering claiming rent or mortgage-related costs, it’s often worth getting tailored advice so you don’t create unintended consequences.

Coworking spaces and paid workspaces

If you use coworking spaces as part of your multi-location work pattern, membership fees or day passes can be claimable when they are incurred for business reasons. This can be especially relevant when:

You need a professional environment for calls or meetings

Your home setup is inadequate

You need a workspace near client sites

You travel and use coworking for reliable internet

Meeting room hire, printing fees, lockers, and access charges can also be claimable if they are work-related. Keep invoices that show the date range and what the payment covers.

One practical tip: if your coworking membership also doubles as a social club or includes perks you use personally, separate those costs where possible. If the coworking space offers add-ons (like gym access), treat those as personal unless you have a clear business justification and your rules allow it.

Communication expenses across locations

Working from multiple places often increases reliance on connectivity. Communication costs are frequently claimable, but they commonly require apportionment.

Mobile phone plans and data

If you use your personal mobile for work calls, work messaging, and hotspot data, you may be able to claim the business portion. For some people, a second SIM or a dedicated business line makes this simpler. If you have a combined plan used for personal browsing and work calls, track a reasonable estimate of business usage. Some prefer to claim only identifiable work-related add-ons (like extra data packages purchased specifically for a work trip) to keep claims conservative.

Home broadband

Home broadband can be tricky: you likely would have internet at home even without work. Still, if your work requires reliable internet and you use it for work, it may be possible to claim a portion, or claim incremental costs (for example, upgrading to a higher-speed plan because you started video conferencing daily). If you work from multiple locations and home is only one of them, ensure your claim reflects actual business use.

Cloud services and software subscriptions

Subscriptions that enable your work are often straightforward: project management tools, design software, accounting platforms, code repositories, cloud storage, video conferencing tools, e-signature services, and security software. If you work from multiple locations, you might also pay for VPN services or password managers to stay secure on public networks. These are commonly claimable as business expenses, provided they’re primarily for work.

Equipment and technology used across locations

Multi-location workers often invest in portable setups: laptops, tablets, mobile routers, noise-cancelling headphones, portable monitors, and laptop stands. These can be claimable if they’re used for work and the purchase is reasonable for your role.

Laptops, tablets, and accessories

If you purchase a laptop for work, that is generally a core business asset. Accessories like chargers (including a spare charger for travel), docking stations, adapters, external drives, webcams, and protective cases can also be claimable. If you work from multiple places, buying duplicates can be reasonable—for example, keeping one charger in your bag and one at home so you’re not constantly packing and unpacking.

Security and privacy tools

Working in cafés or shared spaces introduces security risks. Items like privacy screen filters, VPN subscriptions, encrypted storage, and device tracking software can be legitimate business expenses where they help protect client data and keep your work secure.

Printing and scanning

Printing is less common now, but if your work requires physical documents—contracts, forms, plans—printing costs can be claimable. That might include home printer consumables, print shop fees, and scanning services. Keep a note of the project or purpose.

Professional costs that travel with you

Some expenses aren’t tied to a specific location but are part of doing your work anywhere.

Insurance

Professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance, business equipment insurance, and similar policies can be claimable for self-employed people and businesses. If you carry equipment between locations, equipment insurance can be particularly relevant. Employees may have fewer options for claiming insurance unless it is a requirement of the job and not reimbursed by the employer.

Training, courses, and professional development

Courses, certifications, and training can be claimable if they maintain or improve skills you already use in your work. If you travel to attend training, associated travel and accommodation may also be claimable when the trip is primarily for the course and directly connected to your work. If the training is more about a new career path or a personal interest, it may not qualify.

Professional memberships and subscriptions

Memberships to professional bodies, industry associations, trade publications, and journals can be claimable when they relate to your work. If membership provides both professional benefits and personal perks, consider whether you need to apportion or treat certain elements as personal.

Banking and payment fees

If you’re self-employed and you incur fees for business banking, transaction charges, invoicing tools, card processing, or foreign exchange fees for client payments, these can be claimable. Multi-location work sometimes increases foreign transactions and currency conversions, so keep statements and fee breakdowns.

Client-facing expenses and meetings

Working from multiple locations often means meeting clients in different settings. Some related costs can be claimable, but they’re usually scrutinized more because of the potential personal benefit.

Client entertainment

Business meals with clients, hospitality, and entertainment might be partially claimable in some systems and not claimable in others. Even where allowed, they often require detailed records: who attended, the business purpose, and what was discussed. The more your claim looks like a personal social event, the weaker it becomes.

If your employer has an expense policy, follow it closely. If you’re self-employed, keep claims conservative and well documented.

Meeting room hire

If you rent a meeting room in a coworking space, hotel, or business center to meet clients or run workshops, that cost is usually easier to justify than entertainment. Keep the invoice and note the meeting purpose and attendees.

Gifts for clients

Small branded gifts or thank-you items can be claimable in some circumstances, but the rules can be restrictive. If you buy gifts, keep them modest and business-related, and record who received them and why.

Clothing and appearance: what’s usually not claimable

People who work in multiple locations sometimes buy “work clothes” to look presentable in meetings. However, standard clothing is usually considered personal, even if you only wear it to work. What is more likely to be claimable is specialist clothing or protective equipment that is required for the job: safety boots, high-visibility jackets, hard hats, uniforms with branding, or lab coats. If you need to move between sites with safety requirements, protective gear can become a clear business necessity.

Similarly, grooming and general personal appearance costs are usually personal. Even if they feel “work-related,” they often fail the “would you buy this anyway?” test.

Health and wellbeing expenses

Multi-location work can create physical strain—carrying equipment, working in imperfect setups, long commutes. Some ergonomic items may be claimable if they are genuinely for work use (like a supportive chair, footrest, or laptop stand). But general wellness costs (gym memberships, massage, supplements) are typically personal unless your rules have a specific allowance.

Relocation and temporary living arrangements

If you temporarily work from another city for a project, you might incur costs like short-term accommodation, travel back to your usual base, or storage. These can be complex. The claimability often depends on whether the arrangement is temporary and required for work, and whether the cost is essentially replacing normal living costs rather than adding a business cost. If you are considering a longer-term “work from another city” arrangement, be cautious: once something becomes your normal pattern, what counts as travel can change.

International and “digital nomad” working

If you work from multiple countries, expenses can include visas, permits, coworking passes abroad, travel insurance, and international phone plans. Claimability varies widely. Some costs may be personal (like tourist activities), while others may be directly connected to earning income (like coworking fees for a stable work environment). The more you can separate business travel from personal travel, the stronger your expense position becomes.

Also consider practical issues beyond expenses: working from another country can trigger tax residency questions, payroll issues, and compliance obligations for employers. Even if an expense seems work-related, the overall arrangement may have rules that affect what you can do and how you can claim.

How to apportion expenses fairly

Apportionment is the skill that turns messy multi-location costs into clean, defensible claims. The goal is not to “maximize” deductions, but to claim the business share accurately and consistently.

Common apportionment methods

Time-based apportionment: You claim the portion of an expense based on how much time you use it for work. This can apply to phone plans, internet, and home utilities.

Usage-based apportionment: You claim based on measurable usage, like business call minutes or data consumption for work tasks.

Space-based apportionment: For home office costs, you claim based on the percentage of your home used for work.

Incremental cost method: You claim only the extra cost you incurred because of work. For example, if you upgraded your internet plan specifically for work video calls, you might claim the difference between the old plan and the new plan.

Choose a method you can explain. Keep it stable. If your pattern changes significantly, adjust your method and document why.

Record-keeping: the habit that makes claims painless

When you work from multiple locations, your expenses can multiply quickly. Without a system, you’ll either miss legitimate claims or end up with a chaotic pile of receipts you don’t trust. The solution is a lightweight routine.

What to keep for each expense

A good record usually includes:

The receipt or invoice (digital is fine if allowed)

The date

The amount and currency

Who you paid

The business purpose (one sentence is enough)

For travel: start point and destination, and why the trip was necessary

For shared-use items: your apportionment method

If you’re claiming from an employer, also keep any approval messages or policy references that show it was permitted.

Separate accounts and cards

If you’re self-employed, using a separate business bank account or card can dramatically reduce confusion. If you’re an employee claiming reimbursements, a separate card isn’t essential, but it can still help if you have lots of travel and coworking costs.

Keep a “why” note

The most overlooked part of expense documentation is the reason. A receipt shows what you bought, not why you bought it. For multi-location work, a simple note like “Train to client site for installation” or “Day pass to coworking for confidential calls” can be the difference between an easy claim and a rejected one months later.

Employer reimbursement vs tax deduction

It’s easy to blend these in your mind, but they’re different processes. Employer reimbursement depends on your company’s policy. Some employers reimburse coworking fees, home office equipment, and travel between sites. Others reimburse only pre-approved travel or only certain categories. Always follow the policy because reimbursement rules can be stricter (or simply different) than tax rules.

Tax deductions depend on the law and on your employment status. If your employer reimburses you, you typically can’t also claim the same expense for tax relief. If an expense is not reimbursed, it may still be deductible depending on your circumstances.

Examples: common multi-location scenarios and what might be claimable

Scenario 1: employee working from home and the office

You work from home three days a week and go to the office two days a week. Your employer provides a laptop but not much else. You buy a second monitor and an ergonomic chair for home, and your electricity bill increases.

Potential claim areas: employer reimbursement for equipment (if policy allows), and possibly limited tax relief for certain work-from-home costs depending on rules. Commuting to the office is often treated as normal commuting, not business travel.

Scenario 2: freelancer using home, coworking, and client sites

You do admin and deep work at home, meet clients in a coworking meeting room, and travel to client sites for delivery.

Potential claim areas: coworking membership and meeting room hire, travel between home base and client sites (subject to how “base” is defined), mileage logs, software subscriptions, phone and internet portion, and portable equipment used for work.

Scenario 3: consultant traveling between cities weekly

You spend two days each week in another city for a client project, staying overnight, then return home.

Potential claim areas: transport, accommodation, and reasonable subsistence while away. If the project becomes long-term and effectively turns the other city into a regular workplace, rules may shift, so track the duration and nature of the assignment.

Scenario 4: remote worker occasionally working from cafés

You mainly work from home, but sometimes you work from cafés to change scenery.

Potential claim areas: usually limited. The coffee and snacks are typically personal. If you occasionally pay for a quiet workspace or meeting room for a clear business need, that may be more defensible than claiming café purchases.

Red flags that often cause expense problems

When you work from multiple locations, certain patterns tend to attract scrutiny or get rejected by employers and tax authorities:

Claiming “everyday” personal costs like normal meals, regular clothing, or personal entertainment

Claiming 100% of mixed-use costs without a reasonable split

Claiming travel that looks like ordinary commuting

Claiming luxury upgrades without a business reason

Missing receipts, unclear vendor names, or vague descriptions

Inconsistent claims month to month without explanation

A good rule of thumb is that if you’d feel uncomfortable explaining the expense to someone who knows nothing about your work, it might need a stronger justification or a more conservative treatment.

Practical tips to maximize legitimate claims without overreaching

Create a location-based routine: When you work somewhere other than your main base, make a quick note in your calendar. It becomes an easy “audit trail” for travel and workspace costs.

Use dedicated tools for receipts: Take a photo of receipts immediately and label them with the project or client.

Choose clarity over complexity: If a cost is borderline, consider not claiming it or claiming only the incremental portion.

Align with your contracts: If you’re a contractor, ensure your contract supports the idea that you work across locations. If your contract specifies a primary site, travel to other sites can be easier to justify.

Review monthly: A ten-minute monthly review prevents end-of-year confusion and missed claims.

Conclusion: claim what’s genuinely for work, and make it easy to prove

Working from multiple locations can make your work more flexible, but it adds complexity to expenses. The good news is that many costs can be legitimately claimable: travel between work sites, coworking fees, certain home office costs, communication tools, and the equipment that enables you to work effectively wherever you are.

The key is to anchor every claim to a clear business purpose and to keep records that make that purpose obvious. When an expense has personal elements—as many multi-location expenses do—split it fairly and consistently. If you treat expense claims as a reflection of how you actually work, rather than a game of finding loopholes, you’ll end up with claims that are both maximized and defensible.