Self Employed Newbie - Claiming Expenses

NewBeginnings_2

Hi

I'm about to become self employed and have been gathering various pieces of knowledge.
I know you can claim against your taxes for certain things such as advertising and so on.
I will be working from home at my parents address and i would like a better broadband connection, the questions is if my parent increases the tariff as i want a better connection for my business is there a way i can submit those bills as business expenses although the bill is my parent name? If i pay the bill each month from my bank account is that enough in terms of claiming it against taxes ?although the provider account is in my parent name (same surname)?
I hope this makes some sort of sense and someone could clarify things?

Thanks so much

TheCyclingProgrammer

Under normal circumstances, you would calculate a proportion of your running costs using apportionment based on the number of rooms and how often you work there.

I'm not sure if this applies if it's not your home as presumably you aren't incurring any direct costs.

You could have a dedicated broadband connected in your name which is wholly and exclusively for business purposes and claim the whole thing as a tax deductible cost.

NewBeginnings_2

ok thanks hmmm yeh dont think my parent wants another line put in and getting into new contracts as well as have their own line.

But if im paying the bill from my bank account does that not mean its a form of a direct cost? .... my job is entirely on the internet. My parent rarely uses it, but they kept it incase they did or had visitors.
I will definitely look into at least being able to use some of it towards claiming against taxes. Must be a way if they can see im paying for the bill. Hmmmm

TheCyclingProgrammer

I would have said that the account would need to be in your name but I might be wrong.

It's also hard to argue that the existing line is "wholly and exclusively for business purposes" as the line is already in place and used for private purposes.

Pragmatically, you could put the additional cost of a faster line through the business as a tax deductible expense but I would get advice from an accountant first.

Or you could just not worry about claiming it - you are only saving the tax at your marginal rate which if you add it up over the course of a year probably doesn't amount to too much. If the better package cost say, an additional £10 a month, the tax saving on that extra cost would be £24 a year if you're a basic rate payer.

NewBeginnings_2

hmm yeh good point might be a lot of messing about for that amount. Something to concern myself with at a much later date. Thank you - you have been most helpful