Which self-employed general expenses are allowable expenses?

When you’re completing your tax return, these are some of the costs that usually count as allowable business expenses.

Office Expenses

You can claim business expenses for items that you’d usually use for less than two years. This includes things like:

Phone, mobile, fax and internet bills, postage, stationery, printing, printer ink, computer software and subscriptions.

You can also include business equipment that you’ll keep for a longer time, like computers and printers and other computer software, but you may have to claim these as capital allowances if you don’t use cash basis accounting.

Business Premises

You can claim expenses for:

Rent, maintenance and repair, utilities, property insurance and security.

If you've started a home business, you can include part of your home utility bills, but you need to work out the proportion of your home that’s used for business, and what proportion of the month it’s being used for business purposes.

Vehicle & Travel Costs

You can claim business-related costs, including:

Vehicle insurance, fuel, repairs, servicing, breakdown cover, hire charges and public transport costs. Bear in mind that you cannot claim for travel and commuting between home and work.

If you buy a vehicle for business use, you can also claim Capital Allowances.

Staff Costs

Excluding your ow

n costs, staff salaries count as allowable expenses, including:

Bonuses, pension contributions, benefits, agency fees, employer National Insurance contributions and

training courses related to your business

What else?

Here are some examples of other things you can claim against; Business insurances, legal fees, bank charges and interest, accountancy fees, subscription fees, uniforms and protective clothing, website costs, bad debts and any costs relating to advertising and marketing.

Excluding your own costs, you can claim for staff events providing the annual cost is below £150 per head including VAT. Be aware that you cannot claim for entertaining clients and suppliers.

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Get in contact to discuss your requirements. nigel@woodpeckerconsultancy.com 01635 724960.