I used to run my self employed business from my flat. I had bathroom, bedroom, hallway, kitchen, living room and garage. I paid maintenance, council tax, electric, water, mortgage interest, telephone.
What can I claim? How much can I claim?
It was basically running an internet business.
Regards,
Jon
What do you mean by "used to"? Are you trying to introduce expenses retrospectively into your accounts for past years? It's possible, within limits, but I wouldn't really recommend this kind of "afterthought" rewriting of accounts.
Having said that, you can claim a reasonable amount based on what additional actual costs you had as a result of running the business at home as opposed to not doing so. This boils down to claiming a share of the phone usage bills but not of line rental (unless you put in a separate line for business use only), a share of elctricity bills (e.g. for powering equipment (buth that won't be much) and heating while you were working at home if you would otherwise have turned the heating down while out during the day), water (for extra toilet flushing but only if metered).
It would be unwise to claim a share of maintenance, council tax, and mortgage interest unless there is a defined proportion of the total space which is exclusively used for the business, but if you do that you may lose some of the Private Residence Relief entitlement against CGT when you sell the place, and it may make you liable for business rates.
Is it wise to claim a proportion of rent as a business expense? Where part of a room is used for business purposes?
No reason why not, if you are in fact renting the premises, since if you don't own them, there can be no CGT implications because you can't sell them.
If you own them, you can't "rent" them to yourself, as that would also be non-private use.
Many thanks. I'm using the dining area of a combined lounge/dining room as an office. I assume because it is only part of a room mainly used for residential purposes, business rates are not applicable. What sort of percentage of the rent would be seen as reasonable since during the day the bathroom and kitchen are also used when working. It is a 3 bedroom house and I am employed (director) of a Ltd company.
Usually 25% is accepted by Inland Revenue without question.
Alec
Excellent - many thanks. There are two of us in a start-up company and we are working from our respective homes. He owns his but I don't.
BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.