Its Tax Time

[Andy P]

So who is in the get it done now camp and who leaves it till later in the year and visits the last chance ranch.

I'm keen to get mine done, out the way, see what I have to pay and forget about it.

I do it myself with my friend excel and the blue box of doom (full of invoices and receipts)

As for car expenses gonna do it the long way this year. I've looked at my milage and would get about £450 quid rebate (can is used business miles only) but my insurance and mot repairs cost more than this alone.

So my question is - as a newbie and having only done 1 tax return for DJing, is there anything I might be missing out on claiming (the not so obvious).

regards

[rth_discos]

As for car expenses gonna do it the long way this year. I've looked at my milage and would get about £450 quid rebate (can is used business miles only) but my insurance and mot repairs cost more than this alone.

Is the car used solely for business purposes? And never for personal use? If so, then the insurance and mot/repairs are expenses to the business. But it has to absolutely be that the car is 100% for business use. I presume therefore that the vehicle was purchased by the business?

[Andy P]

Is the car used solely for business purposes? And never for personal use? If so, then the insurance and mot/repairs are expenses to the business. But it has to absolutely be that the car is 100% for business use. I presume therefore that the vehicle was purchased by the business?

yes - I have a Juke, the wife has a Micra and the business has the Disco bus aka the Mondeo est. All it gets used for is work.

[rth_discos]

https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre...mployed/travel

You can claim allowable business expenses for:

vehicle insurance
repairs and servicing
fuel
parking
hire charges
vehicle licence fees
breakdown cover
train, bus, air and taxi fares
hotel rooms
meals on overnight business trips

Have you thought about getting an accountant?

An accountant isn't there to tidy up your receipts - the more of that you do yourself, the cheaper the accountant will be.

An accountant is there to ensure you are claiming all allowable expenses, therefore reducing your tax bill as much as possible within the rules.

You'll often find a good accountant will actually save you money, even after you've paid their bill!

Please you can be happy in the knowledge that everything has been done properly.

[Andy P]

I have and will, at present there isn't much to do but its certainly on the list

[Nakatomi]

Even going by this guide there's a fair bit you can offset your takings against:

https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre...loyed/overview

You'd be daft not to. It wasn't so long ago you could get away with claiming for haircuts & work related clothes but they stopped all that, limiting clothing allowances to uniforms, costumes & safety related gear.

"I'm wearing this Santa suit for tax purposes"....

[DJColsie]

Must admit I have a numbers (excel) spreadsheet on my iPad and iPhone that gets updated from by business account about every 2 or 3 days, so no shocks for me.

I know at any point in the year what my income, expences, drawings and profit are. I just rule this off on the 6th April and start another one for the next year, so all the relevant information is added up throughout the year and ready to go for the tax return. I have to wait for the P60 from the daytime job, which usually arrives in May and then I am good to go.

[ukpartydj]

You'll often find a good accountant will actually save you money, even after you've paid their bill!

I agree.
And on top of that list one that my accountant pointed out to me was; use of home as office. Which you can claim a percentage of your house costs back!

My office takes up 1/8 of the house, I'll have to clear it up with the accountant but if I've got it right 1/8 of my £3'000 whole house rewire can go against tax!
Gotta love being self employed

[Nakatomi]

I agree.
And on top of that list one that my accountant pointed out to me was; use of home as office. Which you can claim a percentage of your house costs back!

My office takes up 1/8 of the house, I'll have to clear it up with the accountant but if I've got it right 1/8 of my £3'000 whole house rewire can go against tax!
Gotta love being self employed

Is this the kind of gem you need an accountant for? I'd have taken that as a given. Phone, internet & other utilities... If you can quantify it, include it!

Edit: I should add that you really have to be able to prove anything you claim for so be careful.

[Marc J]

And on top of that list one that my accountant pointed out to me was; use of home as office. Which you can claim a percentage of your house costs back!

My office takes up 1/8 of the house, I'll have to clear it up with the accountant but if I've got it right 1/8 of my £3'000 whole house rewire can go against tax!
Gotta love being self employed

Be careful. If you claim expenses like home improvements then any profit when you sell the property will then partially be a business profit, and you'll have to pay tax on that. So you're probably better not claiming 1/8th of a £3k rewire, if that then means you'll be having to pay tax on what will probably be a much higher than £3k capital gain when you sell up (whereas if your property is only used for your home, then you don't pay capital gains at all).

What you can do as the property owner is rent the business a room for the office...but that has complications as well.

Speak to an accountant!