Any views on Subsistence- food expenses?

skyjumper

hi all,

only director and share holder of a small Ltd Company.
i do some travelling and staying overnight for arranging business.

my question is

i know i could claim back @40p for the first 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter
but could i claim my accomodation expenses and lunch money back from the company as Expenses.i do keep all the reciepts for everything and it won't be hard for me to prove that i had travelled only for business and there was no pleasure or holiday involved. i tried searching the forum and googling it.
not much luck in finding any useful answers. any views appreciated
thanks in advance

gordonstights

Yes you can claim accomodation & food back whilst you are away from home on business.

skyjumper

thanks gordonstights

what about when i'm away for just the day i.e.9-10 hours away from home for work. can i claim back what i spent on Lunch back from the company?
any guidelines on that- i'm looking at 2-3 pounds at times. is that allowed

Savvy_Sue

Sounds reasonable to me. Do you not have an accountant who would confirm this kind of thing for you?

skyjumper

thanks for that Savvy sue.

i do have an accountant and he was not very keen on taking this as an expense from the company. told me the HMRC thinks bad about people who try doing this.

can i clear one more thing Sue.
can you please tell me how Expenses are going to affect the Ltd Company. i have been trying to get a straight answer but in vain.

i mean is it good (for me economically) to have more expenses out of the company or is the least possible expenses a good idea. I'm not quite sure how the expenses affect the over all company tax, when it comes to profits and corporation tax. sorry for being a bit ignorant. better now than late.
thanks

fengirl_2

The compnay has to show in its accounts everything which it has paid out. Therefore, if you, as en employee, claim reimbursement of travel and subsistance legitimately incurred whilst away on company business, those payments would be allowable for Corporation Tax for the company.
Also, they would not be taxable on you as an individual beciase they are for business.
I dont know why your accountant thinks HMRC look unfavourably at businesses refunding employees' expenses - after all your local friendly Tax Inspector gets his travel and subsistance reimbursed! It is perfectly OK for the company to pay for your lunch if you are out of the office all day, or for your supper if you are away from home, or at a late meeting. It might help you if you had a written policy on what you can claim and what you can't and make your claim on a form designed for that purpose.

Pennywise

Re meals, etc., just make sure you are being realistic and the tax inspector won't be too bothered. For example, they won't show much interest if you buy a burger and chips from a motorway service station (near to your business meeting location), but will be a lot more interested if you put through a receipt for £90 for a meal for two in an Italian restaurant in central London when your business meeting was in Reading! They're not daft, but neither are they unreasonable.

The claims my clients have had rejected include for a burger and chips from a motorway service station 5 miles from home (on the grounds he wasn't "working away" at all) and a grocery bill from a Tesco supermarket for someone staying in a caravan on 2 week assignment (on the grounds that the costs were no different than had he been living at home where he'd still have needed to buy groceries!).

Savvy_Sue

fengirl and pennywise have confirmed my basic thinking on the subject: that's in line with our policy for employees claiming, but I had a moment's doubt that it might be different if you were running your own business. No good reason why it should be, however!

skyjumper

thanks a lot fengirl, pennywise and savvy_sue.

things are more clearer in my head and i will be able to operate much better

the one thing i was not sure was

If i were to claim say £ 30 per month approx.as expense from the company account, how would that affect my Profits when I calculate the Corporation tax.
what i need to know is that would I be paying tax twice on the expenses I take out from the company?

Murphy_The_Cat

A couple of 'good ones' to keep a note of
1) on every night that you are required to stay away from home on business, you can claim £5 tax free from the company for &
2) if you choose to stay at a friends or relatives house, rather than at a hotel (while on business), you can claim a small amount tax free as expenses without a reciept - the guideline figure being IIRC £25.

As for your sustinence expenses - be realistic & don't take the pee. Your accountant will advise you on what it and what isn't acceptable .

skyjumper

thanks a lot murphy for the tips

any more Good "tips" really aprreciated