Should I claim my mobile phone ?

[Contreras]

I don't think HMRC would be on shaky ground at all - their guidance is quite clear if there is no contract or the contract is not in the company name. The link I posted above says that if the PAYG SIM is paid for by the company, then all business calls can be claimed, but nothing personal.

That section is titled "Employee's 'pay as you go' mobile - you pay for business calls".

HMRC would struggle to apply the same principle to a company owned mobile just because it's being operated as PAYG. If you know otherwise then I'm ready to stand corrected.

You would have a phone bill, which clearly shows the calls which are business related and which are personal calls. So although you wouldn't expect HMRC to start calling each number, it's fairly easy to show that at least you have looked at the bill and identified which calls can be claimed and what can't.

I agree that only business calls may be claimed for if the handset is personally owned, and in that case having an itemised bill is clear irrefutable evidence, there is no doubt about that. However I am not convinced that an itemised bill is an absolute requirement. Just as I can't provide irrefutable evidence that every single journey claimed for was actually made, or that every meal claimed was eaten by me, etc.

But that's a moot point because it's a company phone (AFAIAC), therefore some personal usage is permitted, and so what more do I need than to keep till receipts for the mobile top-ups (btw, paid for on the company debit card)?

[Scrag Meister]

My current phone contract is personal, but am looking to let the business take it over when I find a new phone that I like.

No reason not to really, save a little bit of tax, just have to keep an eye on the business tariffs available so I don't get ripped off.

[ike2112]

Watch out that your phone provider doesn't want to charge you more for a "business" tariff and wipe out the tax savings though. T-Mobile are one provider who charge the same to business or personal customers.

HMRC's rules are here.

Vodafone staff don't seem too clued up on stuff like this. I had a personal contract with them, I just asked them to change the direct debit (to my company account) and change the addressee name on the account to be my company name instead of me. And they just did it, no questions asked and no higher tariff.
There was a free handset included in the deal, but the contract makes no reference to it, so although I guess the handset should officially belong to the company, there is no real evidence that it exists. Only that the contract is the company's, so all expenses for it are the company's.

I have a 10yr old Ericsson handset worth about 50p which I'll state as having been donated to the company, if it's ever raised as an issue.

[TheFaQQer]

Vodafone staff don't seem too clued up on stuff like this. I had a personal contract with them, I just asked them to change the direct debit (to my company account) and change the addressee name on the account to be my company name instead of me. And they just did it, no questions asked and no higher tariff.

That doesn't meet the HMRC rules for a business handset, though.

Whether it would even be picked up in an investigation or not, I don't know - but it's not what HMRC should accept as a business phone.

[kar999]

First Post - Be gentle please

Sorry to highjack the thread....and it's my first post so please be gentle but I have a couple of mobile related questions.

1. I've just set up as a limited company for my consultancy work but a month or so before doing so set up a business tariff as self-employed/sole trader with T-Mobile for my exisiting smartphone. The bill is out of my own bank account as the company didn't exist until last month.

Originally I thought I might be able to put the full bill (£10pm) through the limited company books as expenses but as the phone is technically mine and the contract is in my name I assume that I can only claim business calls as per HMRC. here : HM Revenue & Customs: Telephones - mobile

T-Mobile can change it into my limited company name but will need 3 proofs etc. and a credit check so it may be not worth the hastle until the renewal anniverasry.

2. I've also purchased a 3G tablet, primarily for business use to do my banking, online accounts (using freeagent) and for note taking etc.

I beleive (?) the cost of the tablet can be claimed back and written down over 3 years like a computer?
I plan to buy PAYG 3G sims to for online access to email, banking etc. (Three 3Gb 90 days ones cost about £12 from Amazon) but I'm not sure if these would be allowable, fully or in part?

Any help or advice gratefully received.... thanks in advance.

[northernladuk]

Sorry to highjack the thread....and it's my first post so please be gentle but I have a couple of mobile related questions.

A new thread or search the multitude of threads about phones and tablets may have been best but as you are here......

1. I've just set up as a limited company for my consultancy work but a month or so before doing so set up a business tariff as self-employed/sole trader with T-Mobile for my exisiting smartphone. The bill is out of my own bank account as the company didn't exist until last month.

Originally I thought I might be able to put the full bill (£10pm) through the limited company books as expenses but as the phone is technically mine and the contract is in my name I assume that I can only claim business calls as per HMRC. here : HM Revenue & Customs: Telephones - mobile

T-Mobile can change it into my limited company name but will need 3 proofs etc. and a credit check so it may be not worth the hastle until the renewal anniverasry.

You can sell the phone to the company at a reasonable market rate so it becomes company property if you really wish. You could of course just go out and buy a new phone through the company and give yours to the kids or re-sell.
You can only claim the full amount of the phone bill if it is registered to your company and paid from your company account. You will probably find most business tariffs are more expensive than personal ones so often just isn't worth it. All you will save is 20% anyway. Most of it still comes out of your pocket at the end of the day and for £10 I just wouldn't bother.

2. I've also purchased a 3G tablet, primarily for business use to do my banking, online accounts (using freeagent) and for note taking etc.

I beleive (?) the cost of the tablet can be claimed back and written down over 3 years like a computer?
I plan to buy PAYG 3G sims to for online access to email, banking etc. (Three 3Gb 90 days ones cost about £12 from Amazon) but I'm not sure if these would be allowable, fully or in part?

IMO you won't be using the tablet primarily for business use. Everyone that has claimed that here hardly ever use it for that and just browse the net on it etc so don't kid yourself. Buying a £300 tablet and paying extra for connectivity just to access your banking doesn't seem like a good investment. Don't try and justify it to yourself. If you want to put it through then just do it. You might as well claim it as an expense rather than an asset as it is less than £500. I very much doubt HMRC will raise an eyebrow with your explanation over such small amounts.

Remember, at the end of the day all this comes out of your pocket. All you are doing is buying it at a discount.

Investing in a spell checker might be worthwhile though...

[kevpuk]

<snip>claim it as an expense rather than an asset as it is less than £500. I very much doubt HMRC will raise an eyebrow with your explanation over such small amounts.<snip>

WNLUKS - MyCo purchased a Win8 tablet (Dell Latitude) and it is recorded as an expense - no sense faffing around with amortisation and so forth for a small value item.

Same applies to a phone handset - personally, I had MyCo purchase a SIM free handset and just use whatever SIM(s) I have at a given time. I pay the bills personally, so just the phone is owned by the business.

Note, however, that any item purchased in this manner is company owned, not personally, so should you come to sell/upgrade/whatever, any proceeds from the 'old' item should be returned to the company

[kar999]

Sorry to have highjacked the thread... I didn't want to start a new one for a topic that was already being discussed.... and thanks for advice about a spell checker!!

I had considered treating the tablet as an expense item. The last couple of companies I've worked for treat sub-£500 laptops as revenue consumables rather than assets. The 3G version was a deliberate choice so as to have connectivity out on the road and at clients (and it was an Argos misprice of £60 so it did work out as a very good investment!)

I also have a decent brand new spare unused smartphone that I could sell to the business. (The wife didn't want to stop using her old one). For once, the business phone tariff with T-Mobile was cheaper than the equivalent consumer one as it was 25% off and there was £101 cashback so I only really pay 92 pence per month for the next year! Like you say, it's hardly worth the effort of putting the tariff through the books.

Thanks for the help

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

IME, over 25 years or so, is that people get very worried over phone and IT ownership / contracts, but in reality it isn't something HMRC get excited about; they have bigger fish to fry.

Its always worth trying to get moby contracts in the company name and/.or paying for PAYG on company account, but with the falling price of such items these days its neither here nor there. A lot of what is written about BIK on phones dates back to the Motorola(?sp) brick days when they were expensive.

Don't abuse the position, but equally don't fret too much either.

[kar999]

Its always worth trying to get moby contracts in the company name and/.or paying for PAYG on company account.

Thanks.... I'll be buying any 3G PAYG sims for the tablet on the company card going forward.

As the phone business 12m contract tariff is only really costing me 92p a month I think I'll leave it as it is for now (in my self employed capacity name) and not claim!