Canal boat office?

[adubya]

ring ring
OP: Hello.
Pimp: Hiya, the gig's on, they want you in Milton Keynes asap.
OP: I'll fire up the boat, should be there in two weeks.

[Boo]

I've been thinking about an idea of having my company purchase a canal boat to serve as the remote office and accommodation whilst working away (strictly for myself only whilst working at client sites).

...snip...

Might HMRC just laugh and say "that's a leisure craft, not a business expense!"? Even despite the fact my primary aim is seeking to reduce my company's main outgoing: renting remote accommodation and office space.

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks.

Someone here posted that they' bought a hugely expensive motorhome on the company with HMRC's full knowledge and agreement. They did say that they paid all personal use in full at a market price though. In principle there is no reason you cannot do the same with a boat, but as you say, there must be a fairly big chance that HMRC will just call it a pleasure boat.

An alternative tack would be to buy the boat privately, pay for a home mooring then charge it out to YourCo at a commercial rate for the times you are away working.

But I'd ask my accountant for the skinny on this before making any big outlays.

Boo2

[WordIsBond]

My rough calc was also done with regards to him working 365 days per year

Your rough calc was also significantly wrong. At 365 days per year, £20K comes to under £60 / night. At 200 nights away, it comes to £100 / night. Maths is hard, though, so we should all be willing to forgive you.

OP: If you want to do this, you probably will end up with either a significant benefit in kind or just owning the boat yourself. If you own the boat, you can to some extent be reimbursed for costs incurred in the course of the business. I'm not sure there's a standard mileage rate for boats, though.

If it is something you'd enjoy, go for it. If it is going to save you a lot of money, maybe you shouldn't worry too much about the tax efficiency aspect. If you save £10K a year in expenses, you can probably afford to pay a little more in taxes if it can't be done tax-efficiently.

[MrMarkyMark]

Your rough calc was also significantly wrong. At 365 days per year, £20K comes to under £60 / night. At 200 nights away, it comes to £100 / night. Maths is hard, though, so we should all be willing to forgive you.

Of course it is, I forgot to divide by 5....... Doh and double doh........

Lunch time beers to blame

[PerfectStorm]

Have you asked your Lockkeeper?

[BlasterBates]

No reason why you can't expense a boat, provided it's justified.

This would need to be handled by the accountant. If it is cheaper than your expenses in previous years, can't see why HMRC wouldn't accept it, especially if you have proof of where your boat is moored.

[DallasDad]

Have you asked your Lockkeeper?

That has got to be a first for this Forum

Thinks
If Farm Land can then could a barge also be bought through a Sipp or Ssas as commercial property?

[LondonManc]

Probably better buying the boat personally and leasing it to your company for when they need it. Your accountant would probably know best though.