Selling your own stuff to your business

happywarmgun

Per another thread Im thinking of taking on my first proper employee having managed to date by sub-contracting out.

Obviously I need to provide a suitable working environment at the office, so that means a desk, chair, computer and all the stuff anyone would expect. Now, I have some of this stuff spare at home - e.g. a decent enough computer. I was just going to use this to save me any additional expense, but then I wondered am I missing a trick? Can I sell my own business my own second hand stuff? this would be tax advantageous, as it would be an expense and so reduce my corporate tax liability. As it was a second hand sale there would also be no income tax liability. I reckon if I sold the computer as is I would get 200 quid on eBay for it. If I sell it to my business for say, 150 quid would this be seen as legitimate, or does the whole thing sound so suss that it isn't even worth going there....

CANZON

Are you a sole trader? When did you buy the computer?

Afaik*, taxmen will accept biz receipts for up to 6 years before you set up your business. If you still have the computer receipts, it might be worth just giving the computer to your business and putting the receipt for the original cost of the computer through as a business expense, drawing fewer red flags and counting more as expenses than the £150 of "buying" it from yourself.

*I am no tax expert. Do not take my advice without double checking this, as there are others with way more experience than me who might disagree here.

happywarmgun

Hi, I'm a limited company. Also VAT registered. I don't have the original receipts, it's one I built myself from components.

Perhaps the neat way to do it, is sell my own ebay and use the proceeds to buy one similar via the business account, which would have exactly the same effect from a cash point of view but looks less dodgy - it just seems hassle. Anyone else ever done this?

texranger

happywarmgun wrote: »

Hi, I'm a limited company. Also VAT registered. I don't have the original receipts, it's one I built myself from components.

Perhaps the neat way to do it, is sell my own ebay and use the proceeds to buy one similar via the business account, which would have exactly the same effect from a cash point of view but looks less dodgy - it just seems hassle. Anyone else ever done this?

You can rent it to the ltd company as long as you invoice the company and keep the receipts.