FAQ

• What business premises costs can I claim as tax deductible expenses?

  You can claim expenses for:

  • rent for business premises
  • business and water rates
  • utility bills
  • property insurance
  • security
  • repairs and maintenance of business premises and equipment
  • using your home as an office (only the business part)

  You can’t claim expenses or allowances for buying business property or premises.

  You can claim capital allowances for some integral parts of a building, such as water heating systems.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts services team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What business supplies and services can I claim as tax deductible expenses?

  You can claim expenses on business supplies and services for:

  • phone, mobile, fax and internet bills
  • postage
  • stationery
  • printing
  • printer ink and cartridges
  • computer software your business uses for less than 2 years
  • computer software if your business makes regular payments to renew the licence (even if you use it for more than 2 years)

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• How do I calculate business mileage allowance payments?

  Business Mileage Allowance Payments are what you pay your employee for using their own vehicle for business journeys. You don’t have to report these payments to HMRC.

  Mileage claims should be supported by an expense claim noting the reason for the travel and the number of business miles. Travel from home to a permanent place of work is not considered to be business mileage. A person can have more than one permanent place of work.

  There are additional rules regarding payments made through intermediaries.

  To calculate the ‘approved amount’, multiply your employee’s business travel miles by the rate per mile for their vehicle.

  Rates per business mile

  Type of vehicle	First 10,000 miles	Above 10,000 miles
  Cars and vans	45p	25p
  Motorcycles	24p	24p
  Bikes	20p	20p

  If your employee carries another employee in their own car or van on a business journey, you can pay them passenger payments of up to 5p per mile tax-free.

  Ask employees to provide periodic VAT fuel receipts to cover the mileage they are claiming for. This will enable you to reclaim 2.5p of VAT on each mile expensed.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What travel and vehicle costs can I claim for as tax deductible expenses?

  Vehicles owned by the business are capital items and tax relief is claimed as a capital allowance. Businesses can reclaim the VAT payable on the purchase of a van but not on a car.

  You can claim the following costs for vehicles that are owned by the business:

  • vehicle insurance
  • repairs and servicing
  • fuel for business use
  • vehicle licence fees
  • breakdown cover

  If you own the vehicle personally, you can’t claim for the above as a business expense.

  You can claim the following for business and non-business vehicles when used for business purposes:

  • parking
  • business mileage – claims should be supported by an expense claim noting the reason for the travel and the number of business miles.

  You can claim travel costs for:

  • hire charges
  • train, bus, air and taxi fares
  • overnight accommodation when travelling on business
  • food and drink on work journeys outside your normal commute. The more the journey resembles your normal pattern of work, the less likely you are to be able to claim the expenses without potentially incurring a personal benefit-in-kind
  • dinner and breakfast when staying overnight – reasonable costs and alcohol with a meal only.

  You cannot claim

  • non-business mileage
  • non-business travel costs or travel costs not exclusively for work e.g. top up of travel card available for personal use.
  • speeding fines, parking tickets, non-payment of rail fares and other penalties
  • travel between home and a permanent place of work. Anywhere that you work at least once a week, on a long-term basis, is classed as a permanent place of work. You can have more than one permanent workplace
  • parking fines, speeding tickets, non-payment of rail fares and other penalties.

  You can extend a business trip to do some shopping or sightseeing and still claim for the for the trip. As long as the primary purpose of the trip is business, you can still claim all the business-related costs. Make sure you keep proper records, notes and board minutes or conference materials to document the main reason for the trip and satisfy HMRC.

  However, if you go on holiday and decide to do some business whilst there, you can’t claim for the cost of the business activity.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What clothing costs can I claim for as tax deductible expenses?

  You can claim expenses on clothing costs for:

  • uniforms
  • protective clothing needed for your work
  • costumes for actors or entertainers

  You can’t claim for everyday clothing (even if you wear it for work).

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What subscriptions can I claim as expenses?

  You can claim expenses on subscriptions for:

  • trade or professional journals
  • trade body or professional organisation membership if it’s related to your business.

  You can’t claim for:

  • payments to political parties
  • gym/sports club membership fees (although there may be tax benefits to both employers and employees through offering these as a taxable benefit)
  • donations to charity

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What marketing and entertainment expenses can I claim as tax deductible expenses?

  You can claim the following as tax deductible marketing and entertainment expenses:

  • advertising in newspapers or directories [online or offline?]
  • bulk mail advertising (mailshots)
  • cost of providing free samples
  • website costs
  • staff entertaining – for example, a staff party, up to £150 per year. Directors are classed as employees for this purpose.
  • providing catering during a training workshop, if you are under a contractual obligation to do so.

  You can’t claim for:

  • entertaining clients, suppliers, customers or professional contacts, unless it’s on a quid pro quo basis – such as buying someone lunch in exchange for them giving you the benefit of their knowledge on a specific topic for free.
  • event hospitality.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What financial charges and costs can I claim as tax deductible expenses?

  You can claim business costs for:

  • bank, overdraft and credit card charges
  • interest on bank and business loans
  • hire purchase interest
  • leasing payments
  • bad debts (sales invoices which will not be paid). You can only write off these debts if you’re sure they won’t be recovered from your customer in the future, they need to be over 6 months old to be able to reclaim any VAT on the sales invoice.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What professional fees can I claim as tax deductible expenses?

  You can claim costs on professional fees for:

  • hiring of accountants, solicitors, surveyors and architects for business reasons
  • professional indemnity insurance premiums
  • any insurance policy for your business, e.g. public liability insurance.

  You can’t claim for:

  • legal costs of buying property and machinery – these are claimed as capital allowances
  • fines for breaking the law.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our accounts team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What is Social Investment Tax Relief?

  Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) is a government relief for social investment with the aim of encouraging individuals to support charities and social enterprises, to help them to access new sources of repayable finance.

  Individuals who make an eligible investment can deduct 30% of the cost of the investment from their income tax liability for either;

  • the tax year in which the investment is made; or
  • the previous tax year.

  The investment must be held for a minimum period of three years for the relief to be retained.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our tax team to find out more about how they can help you.

• What expenditure qualifies for R&D tax relief?

  The range of costs associated with a qualifying R&D project that you can claim for is deliberately broad and includes expenditure such as:

  • staff salaries, employer’s National Insurance Contributions, and pension contributions for staff working directly on the project as well as for administrative staff supporting it. You can also claim certain expenses such as project-related travel.
  • subcontractors and freelancers engaged directly or indirectly in the R&D activity.
  • materials and consumables including heat, light and power that are used up or transformed by the R&D process.
  • prototype costs.
  • some types of software.

  Your R&D doesn’t have to be successful to qualify and you can, in some circumstances, include work undertaken for a client as well as your own projects.

  Do you still have questions? Get in touch with our tax team to find out how they can help you.

• What does the probate process involve?

  The probate process involves:

  Checking if there is a will – this will identify who will oversee the distribution of the estate. If there is no will the next of kin can apply.

  Applying for grant of representation –  this gives the legal right to access and manage the deceased’s assets.

  Pay any inheritance tax due on the estate – establishing the value of the deceased’s estate to complete and submitting an inheritance tax return to HMRC, and pay the tax that is due.

  Collect the estates assets – from banks, building societies and the sale of assets

  Pay any debts – and finalise income tax affairs and pensions

  Distribute the estate – transfer and property, money or possessions to those entitled to those entitled to it (beneficiaries).

  Get in touch with our personal tax team for help and guidance with the probate process.