If you are residing in the UK and plan to offer your services as a self-employed individual, there are a lot of interesting factors that you can avail for your benefits. One of the prominent benefits is tax-deductible expenses. Are you wondering how can tax deductions be beneficial if you are carrying out your own business? You must know what is the deal in it for you. We have got you covered here as this guide will help you with the general rule of incurring expenses wholly and exclusively for your business can turn out to be a gaining factor for you.
If you incur an expense and you intended to gain profit from the business, the good news is that this can be deducted as a business expense. Further in this guide, you will learn about the prominent tax-deductible expenses in the UK and how can you get the most out of them.
You can seek the assistance of professional tax advisors at the AccountingFirms.
5 Prominent Tax-Deductible Expenses in the UK
There are several tax deductible expenses in the UK, however, some of them are prominent due to the factor of being the most common and beneficial for the people who are self-employed in the UK. We have listed and explained the popular ones for your convenience, in the following.
1- Phone Expenses or Broadband
All the expenses that you incur for the broadband to make business phone calls are no longer to be worried about. This is because you can make a claim back for such a business expense. Furthermore, you can even claim back the amount of money you spent for a proportion of costs like broadband connection and line rent. This is to be considered while you are preparing to submit your tax returns.
2- Specialist Clothing
There are a few business options in the UK regardless of whether you are working as a self-employed individual or not, you will require a uniform or specialist clothing for the job. The amount of money that is invested in buying the uniform or other specialist clothing is also eligible to be a part of the claim back request when you are filing for tax returns. Other clothing stuff that is added to the list of luxury like business suits is not eligible to claim for the cost spent on them.
3- Business Travel Expenses, Van and Cars
The cost of a travelling journey is only allowed to claim back when the cause of the travelling is wholly and exclusively connected to the business purpose. The cost during the business trip can involve the following:
- The cost of hotel rooms that are booked to stay for business trips.
- Subsistences of the night stay are added.
- Fairs of the travelling medium including cars, air, taxi, bus, and train fares.
- The licence fee of the vehicle.
- The charges of fuel and parking.
- Any amount that is spent on repairing and servicing.
- The insurance of vans and cars.
Moreover, in the case you are using your car for a business trip, you are still allowed to claim the expenses spent during the journey. Here is how you will be able to calculate the expenses in this case:
- You can keep a record of accumulated mileage for the business travel to prove the evidence.
- You should be aware of the fixed rate for every mile you have travelled for business.
Keep this in the knowledge that if during a journey you are handling something of your self-employed task that can last for more than 24 hours at the same location, this will not come under the count of business mileage. There will not be any chance to qualify this part of the journey as a business trip.
4- Power, Heat, and Insurance Costs
If you have business premises to work, there is a high chance to be eligible for the claim back business expenses like insurance cost, power, heat, and rent of the building. However, if you have spent quite a lot to purchase the business premises with the intention of work, you will not be eligible to claim back this as a business expense. Some people keep it simple and prefer to work from the comfort of home. In such a case you are allowed to claim for the expenditures as business proportion.
5- Computer
If you are a self-employed individual who needs a computer or a laptop to meet your business needs, such an expense can be claimed back. However, you have to deal with it sensibly and make it a part of the UK annual investment allowance while you are preparing for the UK tax return. In some cases, people use computers and laptops for business as well as personal activities. You can claim a proportion of expenditure as business expenses and this can be calculated based on the time you spent using the computer for business activities.
The Bottom Line
Now that you have gathered a fair amount of information about tax-deductible expenses, we can say that the business expenses sound a little harsh if we do not know about the offer to claim back them. However, the same tax-deductible expenses turn out to be beneficial, especially for self-employed individuals in the UK. It brings ease and other encouraging factors for the people who are associated with the business world as a beginner. You should have a better understanding of how to maintain a record of the business expenses while you are travelling for business purposes, this will allow you to qualify for the claim and complete the process easily. We hope these few minutes of reading have helped to develop a better understanding.
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Disclaimer: All the information provided in this article on tax-deductible expenses, including all the text and graphics, in general. It does not disregard any professional advice.