My 5 top tax tips…

Mileage

Most businesses are better off claiming mileage than motor expenses. You can claim up to 45p for the first 10,000 miles each year and 25p thereafter. This is much higher than the cost of fuel.

Work from Home?

If you work from home, make sure you claim for it. HMRC have a slightly complicated calculation whereby you times your utility bills by the number of rooms in your house and apportion that cost. You can claim £5 per week and sometimes more if you work from home a lot. If in doubt, ask your accountant.

VAT

You don’t have to be over the VAT threshold to VAT register. If you are working with VAT registered businesses you should be registered too. You can charge them VAT on top of your hourly rate and either claim all of the VAT on expenses or join the flat rate scheme. This is where you pay a lower percentage over to the revenue and actually make money from being registered. Call me if you would like more information on VAT.

Class 2 NI (National Insurance)

Did you know that if you are self-employed and are making a loss or have a profit of less than £5,885 and are paying class 2 NI (National Insurance) you can claim it back? Just make sure you have enough qualifying state pension years (30 for a full pension) if you do claim a refund.

Telephone and broadband

If you use your mobile, landline or broadband for business (or even all three) make sure you claim all of these as an expense. If you’re a twitter fiend like me, you’ll be using your home broadband significantly. You’ll be surprised on just how much tax you could get back on your telecoms.

If you need advice on any of the above tips, just give me a call – 01530 414285 or 07525 421454.

Well that’s all for now guys & gals.

Kayleigh