Expenses - bit dodgy this one but its not me

[BolshieBastard]

All you people just claiming 45ppm \ 25ppm are missing a further claim. If you are VAT registered and not on the VAT FRS, you can claim the VAT element or portion thereof, on every gallon \ litre of fuel used at the same time.

Aint that right Lisa (unless they've changed the rule )?

[Bunk]

It's a loophole in the respect that it wasn't put in place for contractors to use. It was put in place for someone whose permanent place of work moved town, giving them the opportunity to try commuting to the new 'temporary' place of work for a short period before committing themselves one way or the other.

I'm merely pointing out that the way that we all dance around the 24 month rule in order to continue claiming is effectively taking advantage of something that wasn't designed for this purpose.

No, it's not. It's for companies whose employees have to work at various locations, eg consultants, auditors, sales people. Those employees can claim the travel expense from their employers and the employer can count it as an allowable business expense. Just because we're one-man versions, doesn't make the business model any less valid. The 2 year rule is there because it's only supposed to be a temporary location.

[psychocandy]

i wonder how many hoops hmrc would have to jump through before they could get a website owner to hand over the email addresses and ips for posters blatantly admitting to tax fraud?

hello mr hmrc. Not me matey.

:-)

[Batcher]

I just think its amazing that people are so casual about commiting fraud like this, just because they can, and very unlikely to get caught. Its a crime at the end of the day, and you are no better than any other criminal, especially if it doesnt bother your conscience to commit a crime. I bet these same people moan about the politicians with the expenses scandal.

Yep, if he gets caught all he has to do is say sorry and pay back the excess. No jail term or even community service.

Worked for the MPs.

[JRCT]

No, it's not. It's for companies whose employees have to work at various locations, eg consultants, auditors, sales people. Those employees can claim the travel expense from their employers and the employer can count it as an allowable business expense. Just because we're one-man versions, doesn't make the business model any less valid. The 2 year rule is there because it's only supposed to be a temporary location.

That was my point

[tomtomagain]

Running a limited company gives a person responsibility over their taxes and a legal obligation to ensure that the right amounts are paid.

Why not suggest to your friend that he can:

• Fly himself ( and wife ) to Paris for the weekend and claim it as a business trip
• Buy a new laptop for personal use ( and a Playstation for the kids ) and claim it
• Claim for his work socks and pants

Any expenditure can be categorised as a business expense and if your accountant is not on the ball, and HMRC don't investigate, you will "Get away with it".

BUT if you get investigated then you will be in a whole heap of trouble and what you thought you got away with several years ago may come back to bite you hard.

People are sent to jail every day for tax fraud in the UK. They are not "Fat Cats". They are small company owners and sole-traders.

Whilst the situation described may be borderline, stepping over the line is very foolish.

Ask you friend this question:


Does he think it was right that UK MPs were sent to jail for fiddling their expenses?

[Pondlife]

I think the OP's mate is missing something here. Since he's operating under the premise that anything is acceptable as long as it's a valid option and it's not instantly obvious that it didn't happen. i.e He can't claim to have rented a helicopter to get there since Client Co don't have a helipad. There has to be more cash to defraud with a little imagination....


I suggest the OP's mate gets a taxi receipt next time he comes home from from a night out. Scans the design and uploads to vistaprint. 100 taxi receipts for about a fiver.

Get a quote for the journey. It's probably about £2 a mile I should think.

Kerching!

[RasputinDude]

This sort of thing really ticks me off - some of us are trying to run a proper business here and actions such as this only help to re-enforce HMRC's perception that we are all tax dodging scum. If it's a legitimate expense, claim it. If it's not then don't.

Disclaimer: I am tired. And grumpy.

[JRCT]

I realised I've hijacked this thread somewhat, through virtue of being the only person to admit to doing this also. However, my motivation wasn't financial, it's just to make things easier (I'm not suggesting that makes everything ok, by the way).

I've worked out roughly that by claiming the mileage over a combination of actual train & bus costs, my Ltd benefits by approx. £2.16 per day.

I consider myself to be a very honest chap. In fact I pride myself in it (I once ordered a box set of an old tv series that I'd been searching for for months. I was so excited when it arrived and it was an illegal copy. So it just went straight in the bin. Never even watched it).

I don't claim for anything on my ltd that I would normally have anyway (eg mobile phone - my personal mobile phone needs are exactly the same as my personal + Ltd, so I'm not claiming for that. I would have the same phone/ contract regardless). So, I'm a little bit perturbed to discover what I'm technically doing.

To that end, I've contacted HMRC today to 'fess up and to get their advice on what I should/ can do going forward.

It'll be interesting to see what they say and I'll report back.

[tomtomagain]

This sort of thing really ticks me off - some of us are trying to run a proper business here and actions such as this only help to re-enforce HMRC's perception that we are all tax dodging scum. If it's a legitimate expense, claim it. If it's not then don't.

Disclaimer: I am tired. And grumpy.

You are spot on. It was this sort of behaviour that brought in IR35. I knew a guy back in the '90s who literally expensed everything. Clothes, meals, transport. Thought he was dead smart. Right up until the point he got investigated.

Some people are really good at seeing the "Company" as the separate legal entity that it is and running it properly.

But other people just act like they are kids in a sweet shop. They just see the gross money + VAT coming in and seem to obsess about how they can get it into their personal accounts without paying any tax at all. They cannot seem to differentiate the company from their own personal life.

And they come up with all sorts of bizarre justifications for their behaviour like "I don't like the government policy on XXXX".

Just see how many people got suckered ( and still do get suckered ) into those "Keep 95% of your earnings schemes"