Reply to: Client Christmas Party

[pacontracting]

Is their a maximum duration limit on the £150 per head. I mean, could I claim one week summer holiday (camping) as the company outing event?

There is no specific mention of a maximum duration but providing the total expenses incurred for the event don't exceed £150 / person i.e. if the camping was £149 but you had to eat, get there, take out insurance etc - all those costs would be taken into account. You can't pay for 'campsite' rental then pay the rest personally.

Equally, there have been instances where I've heard of HMRC disallowing expenditure where the event has not been truly annual e.g. a Christmas party that happened one year, but not the next.

Best bet (IMHO) is to keep it simple, keep it annual and make sure all the costs actually incurred for the event are included. If they total less than £150/person - that should help your case.

[Eirikur]

Is their a maximum duration limit on the £150 per head. I mean, could I claim one week summer holiday (camping) as the company outing event?

[bigmaz]

If you normally provide your accountant with receipts then yes.

My accountant doesn't ask for physical copies of receipts, so i don't provide them to her.

This is probably a daft question, but how does she know how much to put through? Does she get it from your bank account?

[northernladuk]

When I asked her if she would put this through, she kind of "ermmm" and "ummmm'd" about it and then said it should be fine, so wasnt sure if I should have asked her any more about it.

That would be the point I would ask for details. If she isn't sure then how can you make a decision on what to do. It's your neck that's on the block not hers.

[bigmaz]

Ask your accountant

When I asked her if she would put this through, she kind of "ermmm" and "ummmm'd" about it and then said it should be fine, so wasnt sure if I should have asked her any more about it.

[northernladuk]

Do Receipts have to be provided to your accountant for this?

Ask your accountant

[TheFaQQer]

Do Receipts have to be provided to your accountant for this?

If you normally provide your accountant with receipts then yes.

My accountant doesn't ask for physical copies of receipts, so i don't provide them to her.

[bigmaz]

Do Receipts have to be provided to your accountant for this?

[d000hg]

Oh schucks!!! How annoying indeed although it doesn't say in their guidance that you have to enjoy it and have fun 😋

I did mention the wife would be there


(only joking, but it was too obvious to miss)

[Craig@Clarity]

Oh schucks!!! How annoying indeed although it doesn't say in their guidance that you have to enjoy it and have fun 😋

[d000hg]

So if it has to be annual, the fact d000hg Ltd did this last year for the first time means I'm now forced by HMRC to take myself and the wife out for dinner on the company's dime every Christmas-season?

How annoying

[Gordon Ice]

Don't Go

Don't go it's Xmas which is the worst invention ever.. stay in and be a Grinch

[Craig@Clarity]

I'm with Jamesbrown on this. For the £150 per head to apply it must be an "annual" event/function. The key word for interpretation is annual IMHO. Annual being something that occurs every year (tax year in this context of the thread). Probably mentioned in more words in this thread but you can spend more than £150 per head aggregated but then the whole lot is subject to BIK. I'd spend up to the £150 and then fork out personally for the rest.

The CUK party could count toward the annual function/event cost 😉

[PerfectStorm]

Remember as with all claimable expenses - it's not saving money if you weren't planning to go out anyway!

But, assuming you go out for the odd meal with a partner - make one in December the xmas party and pay for it on the company debit card.

[woohoo]

Can't believe after 9 years of contracting I didn't know any of this.

I'm going to take the company secretary out for meal and order the most expensive bottle of red that I've ever ordered. Happy Xmas.