Help with tax expenses for self employed

luke_mersh

Dear friends,
I am new to this forum and am not sure if I am in the right place for this question.


My question is that I have recently become self employed and a company has hired me( you could say) to work for them full time.


my question is what expenses can I claim?
I use my own car to go to and from work.
I have no uniform as such.


My work involves creating listing for the client on their website.


So I am wanting to make sure I am claiming all I can for the upcoming Financial year.


All help is much appreciated.

Mr.Generous

If you buy clothing with your business logo you can claim for it and also a small laundry allowance, but it costs a bit more to buy. Otherwise clothing can't be claimed unless its safety equipment like safety boots, gloves, knee pad trousers etc.


If you need a phone for work for employer to contact you on you can claim a proportion of its cost depending on how much work/personal use.


You can claim mileage but you need to keep a log - just get a notebook in your car and record date, mileage, reason - show work mileage and personal travel. Only claim the work stuff.


If you need a laptop same thing applies as phone, depends on use. Out of interest did you start this job from being unemployed, leaving education or from another job? Reason I ask is I don't think Job Centre push Enterprize Allowance Scheme enough where you get a grant to start your own business.

luke_mersh

Many thanks for your quick response.


The millage is the main issue.


I have been reading that I wont be able to claim millage as its classed as a permanent place of work, as I work there every day, is this true? I have only been logging travel to work(ie- meeting with client) but not my return home- I am still unsure about millage.


Yes I did start my job from being unemployed, I was working on a 0 hour contract and was made redundant, spent 2 weeks applying for jobs and got the job I have just started.


kind regards

luke_mersh

I am using Quickbooks so that when I come to do my SA(self assessment I can simply copy across the figures)


I am trying to work out all the things/ items I need to report and claim, so that after April I will be ready to log all my expenses and claim as much as I can for the following SA.


many thanks

Sibbers123

Are you even self-employed? The phrase 'full-time' for one company is a strong indicator you are an employee.

As you say, travel to and from a permanent workplace is not deductible.

00ec25

luke_mersh wrote: »

My question is that I have recently become self employed and a company has hired me( you could say) to work for them full time.

luke_mersh wrote: »

spent 2 weeks applying for jobs and got the job I have just started.

I appreciate you may be new to the world of self employment and so your vocabulary is still that of an employee, but we need to start at the beginning before advising on allowable expenses

why do you think you are genuinely self employed?

Informing HMRC that you regard yourself as self employed is not the answer if you don't meet the criteria to be so... have you run through the questionnaire?
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax

are there any questions in the above you are unsure of how to answer?

"you applied for a job" is not the wording used for when you win a contract as a self employed person

what contractual documentation have you exchanged with your client?

how long does the "full time" "job" last for? that implies it is done at, and can only be done at, the premises of the person paying you money - whether they are your client or your employer remains to be proven

you are correct to be wary of mileage, because you cannot claim it depending on your answers to the above

luke_mersh

I have my own business.
I am registered with HMRC as self employed.
I work for this company on a self employed basis.


Let me summarise.
I saw a job vacancies while I was unemployed and actively looking and applying for work.
I contacted the job post and spoke to the hiring person in charge, They told me it is a full time position and that I would be working on a self employed basis.
I have been there just 1 week, before that I have been working from home as a freelance web developer as well as having a full time job.


All this the HMRC know.


kind regards

Sibbers123

You don't choose if you're self-employed (neither does your 'employer'). It is a question of fact.

Nothing what you have said so far indicates you're self-employed.

https://www.gov.uk/employment-status

Mr.Generous

Luke they are correct, take advice and look at the link before deciding for yourself. Employers use the self employed contractor route to avoid paying NI, pension, holiday pay, sick pay and being obliged to honour employee rights.

If this is your 1st year I would say wait until Dec 2019 to file your return unless you think you are due a rebate. Tax to pay don't do it early. money back due file it April 4th.

Set yourself up a business bank acc with a savings acc, transfer 30% of all money you get to the savings to act as a tax account. Otherwise your tax bill could be a big problem.

DoctorStrange

You need to be very careful here.

I don't mean to be condescending but have you heard of IR35?

Basically, these are rules which are designed to catch out what HMRC believe to be "deemed employment". Regardless of what you believe your status to be, HMRC may challenge you and, if they feel strongly enough, they can deem you to be "inside IR35" which would put you in a worse position than being a regular employee would.

In other words, you need to be 100% confident you're "outside IR35" before you do anything else. Only then can you start looking at the deductible expenses etc.

As mentioned earlier, language is vital and phrases like "full time position", "applied for a vacancy", "person in charge" are all used by HMRC to prove employment status so, if you're still 100% sure you're outside IR35 once you've looked into things in more detail, it'd be better to use more appropriate language (especially with HMRC!)

Good luck

TheCyclingProgrammer

OP said they are acting as self employed so IR35 is completely irrelevant as it only applies to people working through intermediaries.

If this is a case of false self employment it is the “employer” that HMRC will be investigating, not OP.