Expenses without receipts - how far back can I claim?

[Should know better]

Grateful for any advice on this one. After 8 years of contracting I've just cottoned on to claiming for lunches. Don't know why but I used to think you couldn't.

My accountant says this is OK but only with receipts and at or around the HMRC benchmark rate of £5 a day. Obviously I would like to push the boundaries a bit:-

Can I claim for past periods for which I don't have receipts but can substantiate (via hotel bills etc) that I was working away from home?

...and if I can claim for past periods, how far back can I go?

[The Spartan]

Have you used the search facility?

[malvolio]

Grateful for any advice on this one. After 8 years of contracting I've just cottoned on to claiming for lunches. Don't know why but I used to think you couldn't.

My accountant says this is OK but only with receipts and at or around the HMRC benchmark rate of £5 a day. Obviously I would like to push the boundaries a bit:-

Can I claim for past periods for which I don't have receipts but can substantiate (via hotel bills etc) that I was working away from home?

...and if I can claim for past periods, how far back can I go?

I think you need to listen to your accountant. No receipts means no claim, end of. You can't push the £5 limit, you can only claim what you spent. And you can't actually claim lunch anyway unless you're working away from home for something significantly more than an 8 hour day.

So grow up and learn the rules.

[quackhandle]

I think you need to listen to your accountant. No receipts means no claim, end of. You can't push the £5 limit, you can only claim what you spent. And you can't actually claim lunch anyway unless you're working away from home for something significantly more than an 8 hour day.

So grow up and learn the rules.

Do you mean evening meal?

qh

[stek]

Expenses without receipts - how far back can I claim?

Do you mean evening meal?

qh

You mean teatime?

[northernladuk]

Grateful for any advice on this one. After 8 years of contracting I've just cottoned on to claiming for lunches. Don't know why but I used to think you couldn't.

My accountant says this is OK but only with receipts and at or around the HMRC benchmark rate of £5 a day. Obviously I would like to push the boundaries a bit:-

Can I claim for past periods for which I don't have receipts but can substantiate (via hotel bills etc) that I was working away from home?

...and if I can claim for past periods, how far back can I go?

Why do you obviously want to push the boundries? For £5 a day, particularly when a huge sum is going to appear in one year I would have thought it would have been obvious NOT to push the boundries so as not to attract unwanted attention.

Loads of discussion on this topic here...

lunch no receipt site:forums.contractoruk.com/accounting-legal/ - Google Search

Remember what the benefit is to you. You save the tax on the £5 only, not the whole £5. How close do you want to get to the grey line for a quid a day?

EDIT : If your accountant has only told you this after 8 years you want to sack him.
EDIT2 : Why not write it off as idiot tax as you haven't bothered to understand basic taxation of your company for 8 years?

[Should know better]

I get it...

Thanks for the advice, and your varying degrees of patience. So, I go with the accountants: no receipt/no claim.

Yes, I had searched but couldn't find anything recent and thought, however foolishly, worth asking the Q.

Cheers.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Why do you obviously want to push the boundries? For £5 a day, particularly when a huge sum is going to appear in one year I would have thought it would have been obvious NOT to push the boundries so as not to attract unwanted attention.

Loads of discussion on this topic here...

lunch no receipt site:forums.contractoruk.com/accounting-legal/ - Google Search

Remember what the benefit is to you. You save the tax on the £5 only, not the whole £5. How close do you want to get to the grey line for a quid a day?

EDIT : If your accountant has only told you this after 8 years you want to sack him.
EDIT2 : Why not write it off as idiot tax as you haven't bothered to understand basic taxation of your company for 8 years?

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to northernladuk again

[cleverMonkey]

Do bank statements acts as proof of receipt?

As the title says, do bank statements acts as proof of receipt?

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

As the title says, do bank statements acts as proof of receipt?

No as they will not show what you bought and therefore you would not be able to prove that the expenditure was wholly and exclusively as a result of the contract