Self employed - What can I claim

Tomlaw

Hi There,

This is my first year as a freelancer and I'm trying to do my tax return.
I was wondering if there's a list of things that I can claim against my taxes?

A friend said to me that I can hire my car to myself (I mostly use it for work). Is that correct?
I was also told that I can hire my personal equipment that I only use for work such as computers and servers to myself. Does that sound right to you?

Cheers,

Tom

Pennywise

Tomlaw wrote: »

Does that sound right to you?

No, if you "hire" something to yourself, the amount you'd receive is still taxable so you achieve nothing.

Basically, the rule for expenses is that they have to be incurred wholly and exclusively for the business.

If something you buy has dual business/private use, then you claim the business proportion.

There is no definitive list of what you can claim as every business is different.

Rules are also different between whether you are a sole trader or whether you trade as a limited company.

Cars and use of home are areas where special rules apply. Simplest way for using your own car is to claim the official 45p per mile for business journeys up to 10,000 miles p.a. - 25p thereafter. Use of home depends on how much you use and for what duration. If it's just a bit of admin, then £3 per week is the accepted amount - if you work effectively full time from home, then maybe you could justify £10 per week, It all depends on time and space.