Self Assessment - VAT free PC ?

50Twuncle

I am on Self Assessment and am wondering whether I am allowed to claim tax relief on a replacement PC ?
I work as an ICT technician - so the PC is a fairly vital (though not essential) part of my life ......

PlutoinCapricorn

This may depend on your working terms. Are you actually registered as self employed i.e. sole trader and being paid gross after invoicing? Many people self assess for other reasons.

If you are working on a self employed basis then you can claim legitimate expenses.

w211

If it's vital, then yes, I believe so.

I'm a private hire driver/operator, and I also take bookings. I need a PC with internet access, and printer, to receive bookings by e-mail, check flight times of customers arriving, plan routes using Google Maps, e-mail/print invoices to companies I sub-contract for.

Probably use the PC say 50% for business use, and 50% personal use, I tell the accountant this, who then claims the tax relief appropriately.

50Twuncle

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

This may depend on your working terms. Are you actually registered as self employed i.e. sole trader and being paid gross after invoicing? Many people self assess for other reasons.

If you are working on a self employed basis then you can claim legitimate expenses.

I am not registered as self employed - I just registered for SA because of the continual mistakes made by HMRC and I wanted a little more control over my income and tax....- my tax situation is not exactly complex (3 seperate sources) but HMRC made such c8ck up last year - that I gave up trying to contact them - they sent me over 30 seperate tax code letters for starters !!!
I am currently working on a "casual" basis / no contract - so would that be classed as self employed ?

50Twuncle

w211 wrote: »

If it's vital, then yes, I believe so.

I'm a private hire driver/operator, and I also take bookings. I need a PC with internet access, and printer, to receive bookings by e-mail, check flight times of customers arriving, plan routes using Google Maps, e-mail/print invoices to companies I sub-contract for.

Probably use the PC say 50% for business use, and 50% personal use, I tell the accountant this, who then claims the tax relief appropriately.

Is that the same for electricity, heat and light ?
I am trying to claim every penny that I can - without going too far ....
(probably closer to 25% business for me) - but it's hard to quantify
So thats 25% of 20% of around £750 - which doesn't look very much to me - perhaps £35 - still every penny counts !!

agrinnall

It sounds like you are an employee so no, you can't claim tax relief for a PC or any of the other things that you mention. In fact, there is very little that employees can claim for.

50Twuncle

agrinnall wrote: »

It sounds like you are an employee so no, you can't claim tax relief for a PC or any of the other things that you mention. In fact, there is very little that employees can claim for.

I was self employed for one job last year - which I assume that I can claim mileage for ??

w211

21Twinkle wrote: »

Is that the same for electricity, heat and light ?

Yes, I claim a portion of that as well - though I am registered as self-employed - sole trader, and paid gross (as mentioned in second post).

Not sure of the situation if you're an employee though.

PlutoinCapricorn

21Twinkle, if the casual work is definitely"one off" there is no need to register as a sole trader, although you do need to declare this income if tax has not been deducted (or if you self assess).

If you are getting extra work from time to time and you are not an employee, it is best to legitimise it and register as self employed. There is far more scope to claim expenses than an employee gets, as employees in theory are given everything they need to do their jobs, although they may be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses.

50Twuncle

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

21Twinkle, if the casual work is definitely"one off" there is no need to register as a sole trader, although you do need to declare this income if tax has not been deducted (or if you self assess).

If you are getting extra work from time to time and you are not an employee, it is best to legitimise it and register as self employed. There is far more scope to claim expenses than an employee gets, as employees in theory are given everything they need to do their jobs, although they may be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses.

That's the problem - I am an employee and self employed - I have worked on a casual basis but also receive pensions from 2 former government employers - so it is a confusing state of affairs !!
I am expecting my casual work to be converted to a contract within a few weeks but also my self employed job may produce more offers ......
So I don't know what to do.

PlutoinCapricorn

I can certainly see why you need to self assess!

It seems to me that you really should be registered as a sole trader - not much point in creating a limited company at this point. As you say, it may grow and many clients want the assurance that you have a legitimate status. Not only do you make this extra work official, but you can take advantage of the opportunities to claim expenses. HMRC do free courses in record keeping and expense claiming for the newly self employed.

It is the relationship between you and the company that pays you that determines whether you are really self employed or should be treated as an employee: it is not a matter of choice or mutual agreement.

Have you seen https://www.businesslink.gov.uk? HMRC's website is worth browsing too. The main advantage you have is that you already self assess so it won't come as a shock. You would need to be careful about the UTR as you must already have one.