Is a Visa an expense

[chrisl]

Can i claim the cost of a Visa, which is quite considerable, as an expense against my limited company.

Is there any specific rules about this, i.e if you are only coming to the country for work because of your contract then it is allowable? Otherwise if you come to the UK out of choice it is not? I am not too sure what is correct.

[TykeMerc]

Can i claim the cost of a Visa, which is quite considerable, as an expense against my limited company.

Is there any specific rules about this, i.e if you are only coming to the country for work because of your contract then it is allowable? Otherwise if you come to the UK out of choice it is not? I am not too sure what is correct.

It would be a valid expense if it's directly required for the business to operate on a valid contract.
If you were to buy one on a speculative basis without a valid contract then it's a bit doubtful.

[pmeswani]

Can i claim the cost of a Visa, which is quite considerable, as an expense against my limited company.

Is there any specific rules about this, i.e if you are only coming to the country for work because of your contract then it is allowable? Otherwise if you come to the UK out of choice it is not? I am not too sure what is correct.

It depends. Is the Visa card a business card? If not, the answer is no. However, if you have made a business expense on your personal Visa card, you will need to provide a VAT receipt (depending on the type of purchase, it would need to show your Company name) and submit it as an expense. The money would then need to hit your personal account, before it hits your Visa Card account. You cannot pay your personal Visa Card directly from your Ltd Company. Can't remember the reasons off hand... can only go based on what I know.

If the Visa card is a business card, then as long as you have receipts that back up all the transactions you are claiming for, there shouldn't (subject to the type of transaction you are claiming for) be a problem.

[TykeMerc]

Unless I read it wrong he means a working/residence visa not a credit card......

[pmeswani]

Unless I read it wrong he means a working/residence visa not a credit card......

D'oh. Sorry... long day. In which case... it's down to whether the Visa is related to the piece of work the OP is carrying out for the client. I'll give myself a few lashings tonight.

[Beefy198]

Would you have to prove it doesn't have a dual purpose? Or would that not matter as you're putting it through a limited company and not against an employee?

[tim123]

I claimed the cost of my Chinese Visa (and a new "same day" passport and all the expenses of going up to London three times to collect same).

No-one batted an eyelid.

tim

[Crossroads]

What sort of visa?

Short term visa to a foreign country, and whilst there you will be staying in a hotel / temporary accommodation whilst working on a client site.
- valid expense

Long term residence / working visa (i.e. you are a foreign national working in the UK, running a UK Ltd company and working in the UK), then I would argue not a valid expense - it has a dual purpose as you need it to live here.

[deckster]

I claimed the cost of my Chinese Visa (and a new "same day" passport and all the expenses of going up to London three times to collect same).

No-one batted an eyelid.

No eyelids may have been batted, but that doesn't mean it was a valid expense

As has been said, unless it's wholly and exclusively for a business purpose the expense isn't allowable. In particular I think Hector would have difficulty seeing a passport as a valid expense.

[wxman]

I have claimed back the cost of a work Visa for years now – one has ever said anything.

For me, I often have to apply for a Visa even through I may not eventually travel there. I believe that I CAN demonstrate that all my visa’s are solely for business purposes and not personal use.

I also claim back the “immigration tax” as some countries charge you a small fee just to get into the country.