VAT Savings on expenses

[notforgoogle]

Hi all

I have just started contracting and am about to go out and get a pricey new laptop as a business expense. Is it worth me getting it from:

1) Airport (tax free)
2) From the US where its going to be cheaper
3) Doesnt matter as regardless of the cost it will lower my corp tax bill.

I dont get if any of these options make a difference. The things to point out are that I fall outside of IR35, I am on the Flat Rate VAT scheme.

Any advice appreciated.

[TheFaQQer]

Hi all

I have just started contracting and am about to go out and get a pricey new laptop as a business expense. Is it worth me getting it from:

1) Airport (tax free)
2) From the US where its going to be cheaper
3) Doesnt matter as regardless of the cost it will lower my corp tax bill.

I dont get if any of these options make a difference. The things to point out are that I fall outside of IR35, I am on the Flat Rate VAT scheme.

Any advice appreciated.

If it's over £2k (IIRC) then you can reclaim the VAT. That said, I wonder what kind of laptop you need that you are going to spend that much money on.

If you are buying it from the US, don't forget to pay your import duty.

[pmeswani]

Hi all

I have just started contracting and am about to go out and get a pricey new laptop as a business expense. Is it worth me getting it from:

1) Airport (tax free)
2) From the US where its going to be cheaper
3) Doesnt matter as regardless of the cost it will lower my corp tax bill.

I dont get if any of these options make a difference. The things to point out are that I fall outside of IR35, I am on the Flat Rate VAT scheme.

Any advice appreciated.

If you are going to be on Flat Rate Scheme, then anything above £2k, from my understanding, the VAT is claimable.

I personally wouldn't buy a laptop from the Airport as it is sometimes, not always, more expensive than shopping around.

If you buy it from America, then you need to make sure you have international warranty, otherwise you may find yourself having the hassle of getting it shipped to America and worrying about paying any duty on shipment to and from America.

I would buy it from the UK, even if it is a few pounds more expensive. If you are not going to do a lot of heavy work on a laptop, get a netbook for £250 (give or take £50) and put it through your company.

Wherever possible, make sure the invoice has your business name against it.

[krytonsheep]

To hit the 2k mark I'd go for something like a Pansonic Toughbook.

[northernladuk]

You could of course try searching the forums for the many other posts on exactly this question.

After that have a search for IR35 explaination threads and have a look at them as well.

[MPwannadecentincome]

I personally wouldn't buy a laptop from the Airport as it is sometimes, not always, more expensive than shopping around.

I don't know if this is still what Dixons do, you used to be able to shop around, then phone up Dixons at the airport and order a specific make and model - provided it was one they would normally sell in Dixons or PC World - then pick it up at a cheaper price when you next travel through the airport.