Reply to: Home broadband though Ltd

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

Interesting. My BB is also mostly business. My accountant didn't think it was worth the faff to try to claim any back since the saving would not be that much, certainly not worth the perceived elevated risk if HMRC decided to look more closely at all one's expenses.

To reiterate: if the BB contract is not in the company name then you can’t reclaim any of it.

[Platypus]

I put 50% of the cost of bband through my LtdCo. It's a fair proportion of usage. How much you wish your company to contribute will be directly proportional to your attitude to risk.

Interesting. My BB is also mostly business. My accountant didn't think it was worth the faff to try to claim any back since the saving would not be that much, certainly not worth the perceived elevated risk if HMRC decided to look more closely at all one's expenses.

[Rafd]

Great thanks for the advice, it sounds like Smarty could be the answer. Also I think it a more legitimate business expense than home broadband as it can be used when on the move.. being able to use a 4g dongle for work when on the train etc would justify it as an expense beyond existing personal use.

[Hobosapien]

Have looked at this as an option but is seems to be around £40 a month which is similar to BT FTTP which is the only other option available here.

£40 quid a month sounds high. If you can get a decent Three signal then their budget brand Smarty are currently offering unlimited 3g/4g data, calls, txts for £22/month with only 1 month contract.

Unlimited data SIM plan with no resctriction (2019 Best Value SIM winner)

That's sim only so can use it in a MiFi unit or suitable phone.

Maybe they're £40 for business plans but for this situation I'd get a personal plan and expense it to the business along with a business mobile that you may or may not have much actual use of. If you have a separate personal phone then all's good in terms of separation as far as the business records go. "No sir, I received no benefit in kind." They aren't going to be sat outside with a detector van checking your tethering/wifi hotspot usage unless you are under a much bigger investigation than business expenses.

Edit: I'd have that Smarty plan but Three signal coverage in my general locality is patchy so will be looking for a cheap EE/Vodaphone/O2 deal in the Black Friday sales.

[Lance]

my opinion is that if I had an extra line, for business use only, then it's fine.
I can't justify to myself the additional cost.
I do find Vodafone 4G is brilliiant though, so if I have a broadband oops I just switch to tethering.

[WTFH]

Have looked at this as an option but is seems to be around £40 a month which is similar to BT FTTP which is the only other option available here.

£40 a month is not high, it’s about normal for broadband with a phone line. Have you checked moneysavingexpert.com for what’s available in your area.

I was paying £37 a month for 72Mb broadband with BT, it wasn’t FTTP.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I forgot to add - I recommend Virgin 350Mb fibre if you can get it. I get a £5/month discount as I also have a business mobile plan with them too. Costs £35 ex VAT.

[Rafd]

If ADSL is too slow and fibre too expensive then it may be possible to use a 3g/4g/5g mobile broadband purchased in the company name, and if it works as good as it can (depending on signal and contention) then get rid of the ADSL/landline.

Can get a big chunk of monthly data (20-50gb) all the way up to 'unlimited' depending on the provider and contract length, and use either a MiFi unit or SIM only in a mobile phone with wifi hotspot for getting online via other devices.

Cutting the cord doesn't only apply to TV.

Have looked at this as an option but is seems to be around £40 a month which is similar to BT FTTP which is the only other option available here.

[Rafd]

Is this the same house you were trying to do up via your company?

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...n-via-ltd.html

Have you given up on suing the landlord that you were subletting office space from?

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...ice-query.html
https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...nancy-law.html

Yes and yes. Point being? You can use search?

[Hobosapien]

If ADSL is too slow and fibre too expensive then it may be possible to use a 3g/4g/5g mobile broadband purchased in the company name, and if it works as good as it can (depending on signal and contention) then get rid of the ADSL/landline.

Can get a big chunk of monthly data (20-50gb) all the way up to 'unlimited' depending on the provider and contract length, and use either a MiFi unit or SIM only in a mobile phone with wifi hotspot for getting online via other devices.

Cutting the cord doesn't only apply to TV.

[WTFH]

Is this the same house you were trying to do up via your company?

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...n-via-ltd.html

Have you given up on suing the landlord that you were subletting office space from?

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...ice-query.html
https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...nancy-law.html

[BR14]

Dirty subversive tax avoiders all.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I put 50% of the cost of bband through my LtdCo. It's a fair proportion of useage. How much you wish your company to contribute will be directly proportional to your attitude to risk.

FWIW - bearing in mind you probably wouldn't get investigated - but this is not the correct way to go about claiming broadband costs from YourCo. You cannot claim a proportion of fixed costs as an employee/director. You can only claim additional costs incurred by working from home or £4/week for use of home (which should cover any personal broadband line you already have). If you were investigated this would likely be assessed as a BIK. If you want YourCo to pay for broadband, it should pay for an account in it's own name.

To address OPs specific query - for the reason outlined above you could not claim for any broadband account that is in your name, nor could you claim for the "additional" cost of a faster connection because how would you quantify that? Get a business broadband account if you work from home most of the time.

[TheCyclingProgrammer]

I do but it satisfies the two necessary tests:

1) its wholly and exclusively for business purposes - I cannot do my job without it making it essential for me to have it. Services - like other assets provided by an employer to a director/employee at home - can have a degree of personal use so long as that use is not deemed "significant". HMRC guidance is to treat personal use as insignificant where it can be shown that the employee/director could not do their job without it (which is why we are all able to buy laptops on the business even if we don't use them 100% for business).

2) it is a business contract in the company name.

IMO anybody who works more than 90% from home should have no issue justifying a business broadband account so long as it is in the company name, regardless of whether or not you have a separate personal business broadband. I'm happy with this arrangement and so is my accountant.

[daemon]

I put 50% of the cost of bband through my LtdCo. It's a fair proportion of useage. How much you wish your company to contribute will be directly proportional to your attitude to risk.

Coupled with the probability of getting an HMRC investigation (very low).

And if thats the worst "crime" they find if you do investigate you, then great