Self employed GP Locum expenses / capital expenditure

Drgoogooplez

Hi MSE,

I'm a self employed GP locum. I do a mixture of face to face clinics in various practices but also do a fair amount of remote working. I have a room in my house that i've converted into an office for my home working. I was just wondering what are reasonable expenses to claim solely for business use.

1) Desk - Don't want to get the cheapest one - would £1000 be reasonable?
2) Chair - ?£200
3) Fan heater - The room is extremely cold at the moment even with the heating on. Would it be reasonable to claim for the cost of a fan heater - I'd only use this in the office as we have a young child
4) Dehumidifier - This room has condensation issues and I'm worried about having a computer / electronics in the room - appreciate this may be a bit tenuous.

I'd be grateful for any advice.

Thanks.

DullGreyGuy

Does the young child work in the business? Not sure why the business needs a heater because there is a kid?

Desk, chair etc should last for more than 2 years so would be a capital purchase not an expense. Are these going to be exclusively used for business or are you going to use the computer at the desk when doing your monthly personal bank account reconciliation or applying to remortgage your home etc? 

Is this year 1 of trading?

Nomunnofun1

I have dealt with GP locums for many a long year and honestly would advise that you use a standard ‘use of home’ claim of £6 - £10 per week. 

Otherwise be prepared to justify using the desk and chair solely for work purposes (wholly and exclusively). I really don’t think that a fan heater and dehumidifier qualifies under that criteria. 

Personally- not worth the hassle!

Drgoogooplez

Fair enough. 

Desk / chair would be just for business use. I have a dual monitor set up etc and docking station as much more efficient than using my laptop.

This would be first full year of trading. I became self employed August 2023 but only started WFH work recently.

Does that change anything? 

poseidon1

Drgoogooplez said:

Fair enough. 

Desk / chair would be just for business use. I have a dual monitor set up etc and docking station as much more efficient than using my laptop.

This would be first full year of trading. I became self employed August 2023 but only started WFH work recently.

Does that change anything? 

Nomunnofun1 has generously given you the benefit of his experience in these matters.

Going forward you really need to consider the benefits of ongoing paid advice in assisting with your new venture outside the NHS cradle.

The link below is not an endorsement of the firm concerned  ( many otber firms are available ) but provides useful business planning/ compliance pointers you should be aware of and how a suitably qualified professional can assist with the burdens  ( and benefits ) of self employment.


https://hillierhopkins.co.uk/faq/gp-expenses-what-will-hmrc-allow/#:~:text=HMRC allows a standard rate,the easiest way to claim.

Jeremy535897

You should start here:
https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed
You will see the link to simplified expenses if you choose that route.
As for the chair, desk, fan heater, dehumidifier etc, I would claim them. You have a good case to justify them, and while you could meet resistance from an over zealous member of HMRC, the overwhelming likelihood is that they will just accept the figures you submit.

Albermarle

3) Fan heater - The room is extremely cold at the moment even with the heating on. Would it be reasonable to claim for the cost of a fan heater - I'd only use this in the office as we have a young child
4) Dehumidifier - This room has condensation issues and I'm worried about having a computer / electronics in the room - appreciate this may be a bit tenuous.

Away from the finances- a room should not be extremely cold with the heating on, and ideally not have any condensation issues. 
You may want to look into what the problems are and rectify them.
There are house and DIY forums on MSE where such matters are discussed.
Oil filled portable radiators are a good safer alternative to a fan heater and cheaper to run.
Also it is better to heat the person than the room.

Drgoogooplez

Jeremy535897 said:

You will see the link to simplified expenses if you choose that route.
As for the chair, desk, fan heater, dehumidifier etc, I would claim them. You have a good case to justify them, and while you could meet resistance from an over zealous member of HMRC, the overwhelming likelihood is that they will just accept the figures you submit.

This is where i'm falling down on this. I obviously want to pay all my tax due but does seem like a lot of this is a grey area. 

Happy to pay for advice but even in this thread there's disagreement.

Room is just cold because the radiator can't adequately heat the office - particularly during this cold snap. I was wearing gloves and couldn't feel my fingers whilst typing on the weekend hence asking about the fan heater for when its particularly cold. Likewise for the dehumidifier during this cold snap recently there was beads of condensation on some of my electrical equipment in the room hence why I thought it might be an acceptable expense. 

It's why we haven't used the room for anything else (recently moved house) but its the only room in the house with space for office equipment.

Nomunnofun1

Drgoogooplez said:

Jeremy535897 said:

You will see the link to simplified expenses if you choose that route.
As for the chair, desk, fan heater, dehumidifier etc, I would claim them. You have a good case to justify them, and while you could meet resistance from an over zealous member of HMRC, the overwhelming likelihood is that they will just accept the figures you submit.

This is where i'm falling down on this. I obviously want to pay all my tax due but does seem like a lot of this is a grey area. 

Happy to pay for advice but even in this thread there's disagreement.

Room is just cold because the radiator can't adequately heat the office - particularly during this cold snap. I was wearing gloves and couldn't feel my fingers whilst typing on the weekend hence asking about the fan heater for when its particularly cold. Likewise for the dehumidifier during this cold snap recently there was beads of condensation on some of my electrical equipment in the room hence why I thought it might be an acceptable expense. 

It's why we haven't used the room for anything else (recently moved house) but it’s the only room in the house with space for office equipment.

There is disagreement. I wouldn’t for the reasons given. Jeremy would - fully understand why. 

Can you justify the expenditure as being wholly and exclusively for business? 

Drgoogooplez

Nomunnofun1 said:

Drgoogooplez said:

Jeremy535897 said:

You will see the link to simplified expenses if you choose that route.
As for the chair, desk, fan heater, dehumidifier etc, I would claim them. You have a good case to justify them, and while you could meet resistance from an over zealous member of HMRC, the overwhelming likelihood is that they will just accept the figures you submit.

This is where i'm falling down on this. I obviously want to pay all my tax due but does seem like a lot of this is a grey area. 

Happy to pay for advice but even in this thread there's disagreement.

Room is just cold because the radiator can't adequately heat the office - particularly during this cold snap. I was wearing gloves and couldn't feel my fingers whilst typing on the weekend hence asking about the fan heater for when its particularly cold. Likewise for the dehumidifier during this cold snap recently there was beads of condensation on some of my electrical equipment in the room hence why I thought it might be an acceptable expense. 

It's why we haven't used the room for anything else (recently moved house) but it’s the only room in the house with space for office equipment.

There is disagreement. I wouldn’t for the reasons given. Jeremy would - fully understand why. 

Can you justify the expenditure as being wholly and exclusively for business? 

I mean I'd like to think so. I wouldn't think about buying either if I wasn't working from home in this capacity. 

What happens if I get it wrong and hmrc decide it can't be justified? Do I get fined? Do I just pay the tax due? 

Nomunnofun1

Drgoogooplez said:

Nomunnofun1 said:

Drgoogooplez said:

Jeremy535897 said:

You will see the link to simplified expenses if you choose that route.
As for the chair, desk, fan heater, dehumidifier etc, I would claim them. You have a good case to justify them, and while you could meet resistance from an over zealous member of HMRC, the overwhelming likelihood is that they will just accept the figures you submit.

This is where i'm falling down on this. I obviously want to pay all my tax due but does seem like a lot of this is a grey area. 

Happy to pay for advice but even in this thread there's disagreement.

Room is just cold because the radiator can't adequately heat the office - particularly during this cold snap. I was wearing gloves and couldn't feel my fingers whilst typing on the weekend hence asking about the fan heater for when its particularly cold. Likewise for the dehumidifier during this cold snap recently there was beads of condensation on some of my electrical equipment in the room hence why I thought it might be an acceptable expense. 

It's why we haven't used the room for anything else (recently moved house) but it’s the only room in the house with space for office equipment.

There is disagreement. I wouldn’t for the reasons given. Jeremy would - fully understand why. 

Can you justify the expenditure as being wholly and exclusively for business? 

I mean I'd like to think so. I wouldn't think about buying either if I wasn't working from home in this capacity. 

What happens if I get it wrong and hmrc decide it can't be justified? Do I get fined? Do I just pay the tax due? 

Don’t be getting ahead of yourself - no fines. As Jeremy said there is only a small chance that HMRC would enquire. If there is an adjustment you would pay the additional tax (maybe a small penalty but unlikely). 

If you are happy - claim it.