Business Expenses - What can be claimed?

The_Catt

Hi all, Does anyone have or know where I can get a list of legitamate expenses which can be claimed against?

I have recently set up a company and obviously want to use up a portion at least of my allowance.

Thanks a lot

Savvy_Sue

Have you looked at the Inland Revenue website? https://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk

Have you got an accountant, and if so have you asked them?

vanoonoo

the notes that go with the self assessment tax return form tells you what are allowable deductions against gross profit

your local enterprise agency should be able to offer you free advice

KizzyK_2

I hope no one minds me bringing this back up (rather than making a new thread).
If you work at home, what percentage of the electricity and phone/net is generally given as part of your ‘Expenses allowable for tax’?
I read somewhere that it was 10% but I can’t seem to find a definitive answer anywhere.


Edit
I just found this at Tax on the Web

I have recently become self employed and I am due to do my first tax return in April. I understand that I can claim a proportion of my mortgage payments as an allowable expense as I use part of my property for business purposes. However I cannot find the percentage rate to base my calculations on. Can anyone please advise me of this percentage rate?


You specifically can not claim part of your mortgage payments. You can claim a proportion of other household expenses (council tax, light & heat etc). There is no laid down percentage. You are supposed to calculate it based on the proportion of the bills are incurred because of the business. HMRC will do their best to argue this figure down so be sure to keep an accurate record of how you calculated it with as much evidence as possible.


(Just throught I should post it incase anyone else has the same question)

Savvy_Sue

I believe - but I'm no expert - that one way of calculating it is to say "I use my spare bedroom as an office, there are 5 other rooms in the house so I can claim 1/6 of my bills". But it's worth pointing out that if you use a room EXCLUSIVELY for your business, then there MAY be Capital Gains Tax implications when you come to sell the house. So keeping a fold-up bed in there might be worthwhile!

That's where an accountant comes in useful ...

straws

Contact HM Revenues and Customs https://www.hmrc.gov.uk (formerly Inland Revenue), as they run workshops for the newly self-employed that cover all these issues. They also run one on filling in your self-assessment form. They're very good - you don't have to tell them who you are(!) and they'll probably tell you about things you didn't even know were tax deductible!

Poser

SEEK ADVISE FROM AN ACCOUNTANT they will be able to give you better advise based on your circumstances, doesn't matter how much you read about what you can or carn't claim a 1 to 1 is best