MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD XV - please, no mention of client names or fees on here

jen_br

lol for sure

Skiergirl

Yay - my first assignment has been accepted for re, so am off probation

Does anyone here live in south manchester along the tram line - I only ask 'cos I can see every other pizza place, except the one that covers my area :rotfl:

Lil_Me_2

Chocforever wrote: »

The point is you haven't bought the item exclusively for the shop. You have used it or given it to someone else. The term wholly and exclusively is in tax law and I'm afraid your points don't stand up. You can't pick and choose which items are tax deductible on the basis of personal taste.

Right. Now I believe you're partly incorrect. However this only really applies to jobs that have a fee as well as a product reimbursement.

Chocforever wrote: »

The point of MSing is that it is the shop's normal customers giving feedback. In doing so they are getting a 60%/80%/100% deduction on the price of the goods (the percentage depends on the rate of tax the person pays). By doing MSing to raise income, you risk falling into the trap of buying goods you would not have done without the MS incentive. That is not a reason to change the calculation of taxable income; it is a reason to think twice before you take the job as you could end up worse off. And, yes, I have also done this and have a turtle soft toy to prove it!

Yes, however the fee (which is taxed) is enough of a benefit to justify buying the goods, even if they are of no use to you. Therefore the goods are an "incidental benefit"

Now following the guidance from the HMRC here - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/relief-self-emp.htm#1

We're looking specifically at business expenditure in the first bit.

But to be allowable expenditure, it must be 'wholly and exclusively' for carrying on and earning the profits of your business. This means that your sole purpose for the expenditure must be a business purpose.

i.e The sole purpose of buying the goods is to get the fee.

You can get some private benefit from the expenditure and still get tax relief for the amount spent for your business, as long as either:

• the private benefit was incidental and not the reason for the expenditure
• you can clearly identify and separate the expenditure between business and private purposes

Key point in bold. The private benefit (i.e keeping the goods) is incidental to gaining the fee which you pay the tax on.

Therefore as long as there is a fee you can reasonably say that you did the job for the fee and the stuffed turtle (or some bath toys in my case) was an incidental private benefit.

Now as far as jobs with no fees go......I don't think any of us can try and claim a tax relief on it. However I do know that you could argue that the odd job was done to keep up favours with the companies.

Moral of the story, don't take jobs that only have a reimbursement, unless like chocforever says you would normally buy the things and are happy to pay tax on the cost.

Skiergirl

So now I'm really confused
My first job for re was a meal with no fee but £X reimbursed. I wouldn't have gone for the meal if I hadn't wanted to get my first job done, so where do I stand on this, especially as I actually spent £10 more than the fee

jen_br

Ugh, this is getting too confusing, LOL okies i will try to lay this out.


Ok for mealsthat you go out for.. and im NOT condoning this just suggesting the ones where you get NO fees...

I will say this:

Do you claim on your tax when you go out for a meal and your mate pays the bill?

jen_br

AND remember unless your earning above and beyond the basic personal allowance (AFTER expenses) then you are NOT paying tax! So its good to take those jobs as in fairness claim the income.. and write off the mileage, etc.

Scaredy_Cat_3

jen_br wrote: »

Ugh, this is getting too confusing, LOL okies i will try to lay this out.


Ok for mealsthat you go out for.. and im NOT condoning this just suggesting the ones where you get NO fees...

I will say this:

Do you claim on your tax when you go out for a meal and your mate pays the bill?

Surely if you spend more than the reimbursement it actually goes down as a tax loss?

Lil_Me_2

Skiergirl wrote: »

So now I'm really confused
My first job for re was a meal with no fee but £X reimbursed. I wouldn't have gone for the meal if I hadn't wanted to get my first job done, so where do I stand on this, especially as I actually spent £10 more than the fee

Officially you should pay tax on the reimbursed amount (not the full amount paid, just the money you get back), however the benefit to your business is that you will now get more jobs which will hopefully lead to fees and a profit that you will pay tax on.

Generally as Jen has shown on her tax return you don't specify each individual job so if you were to put it down as an expense it wouldn't surprise me if by April you've done enough to "cancel it out" if you get me. You may come across a problem if you never do enough fee paying jobs as the taxman will likely question why you're doing mystery shopping as there is no benefit (i.e profit) for the business.

However that's my understanding and could be totally wrong and some may get away with never paying tax, but I don't know what the defence would be if it were to be questioned.

jen_br

Yeah, I mean i have made a running loss for a few years but again I do other things and thats what helps with the loss. that or I make such a small profit the tax man doesnt take anything.

HONESTY is the best with with HMRC and I would suggest declaring it all.

PS is everyone paying their NI contributions?

Lil_Me_2

jen_br wrote: »

Yeah, I mean i have made a running loss for a few years but again I do other things and thats what helps with the loss. that or I make such a small profit the tax man doesnt take anything.

HONESTY is the best with with HMRC and I would suggest declaring it all.

PS is everyone paying their NI contributions?

I think you might have a higher mileage cost too. I live in a city so never travel more than 10 miles there and back so my expenses is very low. Like you say though, honesty is always the best and as long as you feel like you could argue your corner with HMRC if they ever question your expenses (such as buying goods) then don't sweat too much.

Yes I pay NI through my main job, so I've opted out.