Sole trader self employed - mileage or fuel allowance

weston800

Hi all,

In March my partner decided to go self-employed (sole trader). He's got work on a site building lodges (permanent homes for the over 55s)

I have done lots of research and watched videos on claiming expenses but the mileage/fuel costs are still confusing me.

He had an estate car (second hand) prior to going self-employed which he now uses as his work vehicle - not sure if this info helps but it's an 08 plate diesel, cost him £4,750 in August 2017 and the CO2 emissions are 154 g/km. He uses the car around 90% for work and 10% for personal use. I am keeping a log of his expenses and daily mileage but I just wondered what costs I should use for the mileage? Should I be calculating mileage on a '£s per mile' rate or as a 90% of actual fuel spend cost (ie, by using his fuel receipts).

I have looked into using the 45p per mile flat rate instead of calculating all of his car running costs separately but have been advised it's better for us to do it the long way.

I am happy to calculate everything separately but I just don't understand how I provide costs to the tax man for the amount of fuel he spends for work.

He doesn't have an office, his business address is that of our home address and I do his accounts on my laptop whilst sat in the lounge. He drives daily to and from the site where the lodges are being built (around 7 miles return, 5 to 6 days a week)

I have been advised that I can claim a small proportion of utility costs as I do his accounts from home but we don't have a proper office and I literally only spend around 2 hours a week doing admin for him.

If you require any further info in order to assist me in answering my question, I'd only be too obliged to help .

Thank you!

Dox

You've used the phrase "I have been advised...." several times. Who did the advising - a professional who knows your partner's work situation, or the proverbial Man in the Pub?

Might be worth investing in an hour of an accountant's time (won't necessarily need that long) and getting it properly sorted out rather than relying on well meaning input from strangers who can't know all the relevant facts.

weston800

Dox wrote: »

You've used the phrase "I have been advised...." several times. Who did the advising - a professional who knows your partner's work situation, or the proverbial Man in the Pub?

Might be worth investing in an hour of an accountant's time (won't necessarily need that long) and getting it properly sorted out rather than relying on well meaning input from strangers who can't know all the relevant facts.

I have had the advice from people I know and trust (who do self-assessments themselves).

I was trying to avoid the cost of an accountant hence me putting a post on here...

Brynsam

weston800 wrote: »

I have had the advice from people I know and trust (who do self-assessments themselves).

I was trying to avoid the cost of an accountant hence me putting a post on here...

If you know and trust them (although just doing their own self assessment forms isn't exactly a high recommendation), why do you want input from people you don't know?

Have a look at https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/self-employed and scroll down to 'Managing expenses'.

Trying to avoid the cost of an accountant is entirely understandable, but could be a false economy, particularly as it wouldn't cost much to ensure you are correctly advised.