iPhone4 to 4S upgrade

[Clare@InTouch]

The question I always ask myself is, "Would my MP expense this?" So obviously everything is allowable, and if not a simple apology and paying back just the tax would be sufficient.

Btw Clare, personal assets can be transferred to the business at a reasonable cost. I did that with a server I owned that was hosted in a data centre.

I absolutely agree. What I meant was that if he's currently using a phone he paid for personally and then he sells it, there's no company tax implications because it's a personal asset that was never transferred into the business in the first place. Therefore it's not a consideration.

[Martin at NixonWilliams]

What about this page at HMRC

It explicitly states "Please note that the rules in this guide don’t apply to a device such as an iPhone or BlackBerry – the range of functions these devices offer means that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) doesn’t consider them to be primarily mobile phones. For details of the rules that apply, see the A to Z entry ‘Assets made available to an employee’.

So would you have to pay the BIK if buying an iphone through the ltdco?

That's correct, HMRC treat iPhones and Blackberries as computers so different rules apply. The rules for computers can be found on the HMRC website:

HM Revenue & Customs: Computers loaned to an employee

Provided personal use isn't significant there will be no BIK to pay.

Martin

[craig1]

That's correct, HMRC treat iPhones and Blackberries as computers so different rules apply. The rules for computers can be found on the HMRC website:

HM Revenue & Customs: Computers loaned to an employee

Provided personal use isn't significant there will be no BIK to pay.

Martin

Personal use can heavily outweigh company use and still have no BIK to pay (linky). See example 2 for a good example.

[ruth11]

Personal use can heavily outweigh company use and still have no BIK to pay (linky). See example 2 for a good example.

Brilliant. Thanks for this, very useful indeed. Now bookmarked in case of future need.