What Can I Include On Company Expenses, To Reduce Tax Bill?

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Health assessment, I.e. bupa health check ;-)

Duality of purpose so no - an expense has to be a cost incurred wholly and exclusively because of the contract

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Duality of purpose so no - an expense has to be a cost incurred wholly and exclusively because of the contract

Sorry, but that's wrong. Companys can provide their employees and directors with one annual medical checkup (and an eye test if you use a screen) as long as they contract and pay for the checkup directly:

HM Revenue & Customs: Medical or dental treatment and insurance

There are no reporting requirements and you have no tax or NICs to pay for company directors and employees earning at or above the £8,500 rate if you provide any of the following:
periodic medical checks or health screenings that take place no more than once a year
eye tests required by health and safety legislation for employees who are required to use a computer screen or other VDU

The general rule for employee expenses is "wholly and exclusively" but that doesn't mean there can't be specific rules for specific items (just like food has duality of purpose, but there are specific rules in place to allow subsistence claims for travelling to a temporary workplace).

Also, as the item I quoted above refers to cases where the healthcheck provider is paid directly by the company rather than the company reimbursing, it's not actually an employee expense, but a company expense that is explicitly exempt from the benefits code:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/EIM21765.htm

All that said, there's no point in getting one unless you need one, just to save a bit of tax!

[MonkeyWorld]

Yeah, I needed a health assessment so went and got one, but wouldn't do it every year just to save 20%

[sartois]

Bear in mind there is no point in spending 80% to save 20%. I.e. don't buy something for £10 just to save £2 in tax if you don't need it.

What about spending 2.5K on a shiny new MacBook Pro? Surely this is worth it because:

a) I also get the VAT back for being over £2K
b) Due to recent transition from permie to contractor I am going to incur 25% tax on any dividends I pay myself anyway so it's not just the 20% corporation tax (this possibly is self justification for spending that amount)
c) They are shiny

[SueEllen]

What about spending 2.5K on a shiny new MacBook Pro? Surely this is worth it because:

a) I also get the VAT back for being over £2K
b) Due to recent transition from permie to contractor I am going to incur 25% tax on any dividends I pay myself anyway so it's not just the 20% corporation tax (this possibly is self justification for spending that amount)
c) They are shiny

You can if you want one and require it for the business.

[SueEllen]

Duality of purpose so no - an expense has to be a cost incurred wholly and exclusively because of the contract

Not all expenses are due to a specific contract - for example getting a company laptop, company phone, company website, company email, advertising etc. They are just the cost of doing business.

[stek]

You can if you want one and require it for the business.

Taking the piss mode: What if I want two iPhone 5S's cos I want one for my pocket and one to keep in the car connected 24/7 to the Pioneer Appradio that functions as a SatNav too? Too much effort to take it out the Brodit cradle...

Reality mode: one iPhone 5S for me, one for the missus...

[northernladuk]

Taking the piss mode: What if I want two iPhone 5S's cos I want one for my pocket and one to keep in the car connected 24/7 to the Pioneer Appradio that functions as a SatNav too? Too much effort to take it out the Brodit cradle...

Reality mode: one iPhone 5S for me, one for the missus...

Taking the piss mode : Claim what you want if your accountant isn't going to question it. You don't have to justify it to anyone including yourself.
Reality : Unlikely you will get caught but in the slim situation you do you are going to do an awful lot of sweating and end up paying over the odds for what, a chance of a hundred quid saving?

Always remember, it still comes out of your pocket at the end of the day, all you are getting is a 20% discount.

[SueEllen]

If you want a legit way of reducing your tax bill then open a company pension for the company director(s). Yes you can't get it until you reach 55 but neither can anyone else (unless of course you die).

[stek]

Taking the piss mode : Claim what you want if your accountant isn't going to question it. You don't have to justify it to anyone including yourself.
Reality : Unlikely you will get caught but in the slim situation you do you are going to do an awful lot of sweating and end up paying over the odds for what, a chance of a hundred quid saving?

Always remember, it still comes out of your pocket at the end of the day, all you are getting is a 20% discount.

I know!

But it's little victories...

I've stopped claiming my Netflix cos I only use it when away, that's cost me a quid a month or so, which is best part of a pint in Leeds, but not in Farnborough...