Self-Assessment Tax Paid - Count as Expenses?!

mnbvcxz17

I'm fully expecting the answer to this to be a hard NO, but I cannot find an explicit statement of this anywhere online, or in the government guidelines.

Can a person count tax paid as business expenses when doing a self-assessment? eg, let's say I earn £20k as self-employed, have £2k of business expenses, BUT also paid about £2k in tax that year. Can I count my expenses as therefore totalling £4k?

I imagine very much not, as that would mean you would have a ping-pong tax payment every second year, with one year being a lower tax payment, then the next being a higher one, then back to a lower one etc, even if your income and other expenses all stay the same. And of course, the money you save to pay your tax still needs to be taxed itself. Anyone got any further official info on this?

whizzywoo

No you can't claim income tax or National Insurance contributions as a business expense when doing self-assessment.

Have you got confused with Universal Credit's treatment of self employed expenses?  Income tax and National Insurance contributions are allowed as "expenses" because Universal Credit is based on employment AFTER tax and NI has been paid.

whizzywoo

whizzywoo said:

 employment AFTER tax and NI has been paid.

Insert "income" after employment.

mnbvcxz17

whizzywoo said:

No you can't claim income tax or National Insurance contributions as a business expense when doing self-assessment.

Have you got confused with Universal Credit's treatment of self employed expenses?  Income tax and National Insurance contributions are allowed as "expenses" because Universal Credit is based on employment AFTER tax and NI has been paid.

I thought this was the case! However, I'm most interested in where it states this on the gov dot uk guidelines for Self-Employed Allowable Expenses, as I can't find it. It seems to me like this would be something they'd want to explicitly state upfront, no?

(Just to be clear, I'm not doubting you as I knew you weren't able to do this, but just wondering why it's not explicitly laid out anywhere)  

whizzywoo

I take you are bored and have nothing to do?

Jeremy535897

It's not listed as a business expense here:
https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed

csgohan4

when is the lockdown easing fully, people have too much time and not bothering to do basic research

[Deleted User]

Perhaps he has a point?
Work out your taxable profit.
Calculate tax and NI due.
Deduct this from your taxable profit.
Recalculate tax and NI due.
Deduct this from your taxable profit.
And so on. 
Eventually you will be in a repayment situation.
Add the repayment to your taxable profit.
Etc etc

sheramber

mnbvcxz17 said:

whizzywoo said:

No you can't claim income tax or National Insurance contributions as a business expense when doing self-assessment.

Have you got confused with Universal Credit's treatment of self employed expenses?  Income tax and National Insurance contributions are allowed as "expenses" because Universal Credit is based on employment AFTER tax and NI has been paid.

I thought this was the case! However, I'm most interested in where it states this on the gov dot uk guidelines for Self-Employed Allowable Expenses, as I can't find it. It seems to me like this would be something they'd want to explicitly state upfront, no?

(Just to be clear, I'm not doubting you as I knew you weren't able to do this, but just wondering why it's not explicitly laid out anywhere)  

 Income tax is not paid by the business It is paid by the individual, so it is not a business expense.