Starting to claim something your entitled to but not claimed for in the past

[Greg@CapitalCity]

Unless you have a dispensation from HMRC, the "£5" and "12 hours" stuff is irrelevant and you claim for the actual cost incurred. Of course, you will also be able to somehow demonstrate this and receipts are good for that!

I think the OP is referring to "Incidental overnight expenses" - so its true that no receipts etc are required, and no dispensation. Take a look at;
HM Revenue & Customs: Incidental overnight expenses

[SimonMac]

Can I retrospectively claim, or is it best just to start from today (or probably tomorrow being the 1st)

[Contreras]

I think the OP is referring to "Incidental overnight expenses" - so its true that no receipts etc are required, and no dispensation. Take a look at;
HM Revenue & Customs: Incidental overnight expenses

Well I'm happy to stand corrected in that case, and thanks for the link.

So are we saying that Incidental Overnight Expense is in effect (or is) a flat rate statutory allowance, to be claimed in full no questions asked?

Still not sure where the "12 hours" rule comes into it though.

[Clare@InTouch]

Well I'm happy to stand corrected in that case, and thanks for the link.

So are we saying that Incidental Overnight Expense is in effect (or is) a flat rate statutory allowance, to be claimed in full no questions asked?

Still not sure where the "12 hours" rule comes into it though.

The £5 incidental expense can be claimed by anyone, and it's £10 if you're abroad.

If you want the 12 hour rate etc then you need a dispensation in place. Otherwise you just claim the amount you spend.

[Greg@CapitalCity]

Still not sure where the "12 hours" rule comes into it though.

So there are two things going on here;
(1) Incidental overnight expenses (for things like buying newspapers, paying for laundry,phoning home) - this is the £5 a night I mentioned (£10 if overseas), and is NOT related to subsistence;
(2) Subsistence when travelling. Most contractors just claim the actual cost of subsistence and keep their receipts, but the HMRC have issued a set of benchmark scale rates that can be used (have a read of the link below which explains why such a system was brought into existence), and the employer needs a dispensation from the HMRC to run this scheme. If you read the justification for bringing in this system, you will see it not designed for a one-man band at all. I am not sure if the HMRC would approve a dispensation to use benchmark scale rates for subsistence, for a single Director company. Maybe the other accountants on here have experience with this. Actually we did try it about 18-24months ago for a client - the HMRC turned it down on the basis there could be no other party checking that the system was being run correctly.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/income-tax/brief2409.htm

[Wanderer]

Can I retrospectively claim, or is it best just to start from today (or probably tomorrow being the 1st)

Not everyone claims their expenses the day they incur them so presuming you have records of when you were able to claim it and it's still in the current personal/company tax year then I'd just put in a claim retrospectively and repay the money to yourself as a nice lump sum.

[Contreras]

Can I retrospectively claim, or is it best just to start from today (or probably tomorrow being the 1st)

Not everyone claims their expenses the day they incur them so presuming you have records of when you were able to claim it and it's still in the current personal/company tax year then I'd just put in a claim retrospectively and repay the money to yourself as a nice lump sum.

Same here. Out-of-pocket expenses recorded as an when they happen, but claimed back at company year end as a lump sum. Ditto for mileage and "use of home" statutory allowances.