We’re in a new financial year and in order to make it a great one, it’s important you should know what expenses are tax deductible. Expenses for Sole Traders can be a grey area and sometimes there may be an overlap on what’s used for business and for personal use. When this is the case you can only claim a proportion of the cost and not the whole expense.
If you claim for expenses which are not classed as tax deductible according to HMRC then you could be fined later down the line if you’re ever investigated. They can go back years!
You also don’t want to be overpaying the taxman, so knowing what expenses can be claimed is vital. No one enjoys handing over money to the taxman, so you want to keep the cost of your tax bill to a minimum. The healthier your cash flow the more sustainable your business.
Many of my clients come to me unsure of what they can and can’t claim, so here are the top 5 forgotten expenses.
Mobile phone bill
Most Sole Traders use their personal mobile for both personal and business use. It’s a misconception that as you use it for personal use you can’t claim it as a tax deductible expense. What you do have to do is work out how much you use it for business use in order to claim the right proportion of the bill.
You may consider the amount of time you use your mobile phone for business use as a percentage. This can be for anything such as making calls, sending texts and emails, internet usage and any software apps you access through your mobile device. You’ll probably come to the conclusion that you actually use it more for business use than you do personal use. For example if you work out that you spend 90% of your time using your mobile phone for business use and your mobile phone bill is £50 per month then you could claim £45 per month. That’s a big amount to be losing out on!
Bookkeeping & Accountancy Fees
One thing most business owners don’t realise is that whilst your bookkeeper is saving you time and money, the fee is actually tax deductible. Win win! Other professional fees such as a Virtual Assistant to help you with your social media and admin or a solicitor to give you legal advice, are also tax deductible too!
Mileage
You don’t necessarily have to have a company car to claim back the cost of your mileage. If you own a car for personal use and use it to travel to meet clients, to attend training etc then you can claim mileage allowance. In fact whether you travel by bike, car, van or motorbike you can claim an amount back depending on your vehicle type.
