self employed - what expenses can be used???

2020_2

im a locum optician. im not sure what expenses i can put through. obviously petrol costs, mobile, but what about suits, dry cleaning??

Cute_'n'_Quirky

I am fairly sure that your suits and dry cleaning cannot be claimed for since you would have those expenses anyway.

If you have a white coat for workwear you can claim the full costs of the purchase.

WrenBoy

Lunches, professional fees (institutes), training and CPD and travel to and from your office. If your office is your home then that would include all travel. Also if your home is your base, portion of your bills as overhead - not sure how to calculate but a proportion of your heating and lighting bills. Broadband if you need it for business.

Lots more I'll post again if I can think of them.

2020_2

lunch?but you need to eat even if you werent working?do you need the receipts?
about the suits and dry cleaning - i dont wear suits normally!

Debt_Free_Chick

20/20 wrote: »

lunch?but you need to eat even if you werent working?do you need the receipts?
about the suits and dry cleaning - i dont wear suits normally!

But you specifically asked about suits & dry cleaning in your first post

Yes - you can claim laundry for clothes you specifically wear for work. Yes, you ought to have receipts - not for the purpose of claiming the deduction (you can do this without receipts) but if your tax return is ever investigated. Under self assessment, the tax man trusts you to be honest & truthful. But if you are investigated, he will want you "to prove it" :eek:

Hoddie_2

Since when have you been able to claim for cleaning ordinary clothing? For that matter, since when have you been able to claim for commuting? Or lunches? Or broadband? These are all things you'd need to pay for whether you were employed or self-employed, and in the case of broadband the cost is the same if wholly private use or mixed private/business use.

If you've already incurred the costs, speak to HMRC about how and if you can claim, if you haven't already incurred the costs, speak to an accountant about how best spend your money to maximise the relief available.

WrenBoy

As an employee you can’t claim for commuting since you are travelling to/from your normal place of work. However if you are self-employed and your home is also your normal place of work – ie your business headquarters, you can claim for any other travel.

Lunches – whilst away from your normal place of work you can claim subsistence.

Broadband – if you require it for your work – can be claimed. For instance I personally need home business broadband (as opposed to the cheaper home versions) for my work as a consultant/researcher. I should imagine many self-employed people would use broadband for job-hunting, researching the competition, emails, etc. All reclaimable as a business expense.

One other thing I forgot to mention is client entertaining. For me it’s only an occasional lunch or coffee but that is still a legitimate business expense.

I’ve been doing our business accounts for many years now and our accountant only throws the occasional thing back to me – such as healthcare expenses. I argue that sitting at a desk all day puts my back out, hence I need an osteopath. He disagrees. He wins.

Hope this helps,
Wren

PS Oh and you definitely can't claim for dry cleaning.

Debt_Free_Chick

WrenBoy wrote: »

PS Oh and you definitely can't claim for dry cleaning.

My accountant puts in a deduction for laundry. I work from home doing a PC based job, but she tells me I can claim for laundry/cleaning.

fireuptheband

You have to think of the things you NEED to do your job - these are the things you can certainly claim for.

Then just go through things that you may need and work them out like that.

Save a week/months receipts and look what you're spending business wise.

disciple

I am an IT Consultant and have recently set up my own limited company can anyone point my in the direction of a professional accountant or guide me in the correct direction? Any advice on Professional Indemnity insurance would help as well please

Many thanks in advance.

dunstonh

I thought clothing could only be claimed if it was protective clothing. Suits, for example, cannot.