One of the most common, if not the most common question, we are asked at Mountain Top Accountants, is “what expenses can I claim?”.
There is good news, you can claim a variety of expenses to reduce your tax bill! The key rule is that anything you claim must be “wholly and exclusively” for business purposes. That means if it’s something you need to run your company, there’s a good chance you can offset it against your profits and pay less tax.
From office costs to travel, software, and even some staff perks, here’s a breakdown of what you can claim. Let’s dive in:
- Office & Work-Related Expenses
- Office rent & utilities (electricity, water, internet, etc.)
- Home office expenses (portion of rent, utilities, and council tax if working from home)
- Stationery & office supplies (paper, pens, printer ink, postage)
- Software & subscriptions (Microsoft 365, Adobe, Zoom, etc.)
- Travel & Vehicle Expenses
- Business mileage (45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, 25p after)
- Company vehicle expenses (it may be cheaper to not have a vehicle in the business)
- Public transport (trains, flights, taxis for business trips)
- Hotel & accommodation (for business-related overnight stays)
- Food & drink (only when traveling for business, not daily lunches)
- Staff canteen
- Parking & tolls
- Staff & Payroll Costs
- Employee salaries
- Employer’s National Insurance contributions (NICs)
- Pension contributions (if part of an approved scheme)
- Training courses (must be relevant to your business)
- Professional Services
- Accountants & tax advisers (At Mountain Top Accountants, one of our aims is to always save you more than our fee)
- Legal fees (only if related to business activities)
- Business consultants & contractors
- Marketing & Advertising
- Website development & hosting
- Google/Facebook Ads
- Business cards & promotional materials
- Insurance & Licences
- Professional indemnity & public liability insurance
- Business vehicle insurance
- Software licences
- Equipment & Tools
- Computers, laptops, & mobile phones (if used for business)
- Vehicles (probably not a car unless 100% electric and brand new and debatable if a crew cab van)
- Factory equipment
- Office furniture (desk, chair, monitor, etc.)
- Work-related tools & machinery
- Protective clothing
- Business Entertainment (Limited)
- Client entertainment (NOT tax-deductible)
- Staff entertainment (Christmas party, team events) – up to £150 per employee is tax-free
- Bad Debts
- Unpaid invoices (you can write them off as a business expense if you have made attempts to recover them)
The above is a standard list, and as always, the devil is in the detail. So, just a heads-up, while this list covers the most common business expenses, HMRC has specific rules on what qualifies. If you’re unsure about a particular cost, it’s always worth double-checking with us at Mountain Top Accountants, to stay on the safe side.
