Reply to: ltd co expenses

[gwildfire]

What about a rented property? Can a portion of that be claimed, the guidlines I gathered were the additional cost of running an office over an above the normal domestic expsenses.
isnt it then reasonable to assume, if for example you house has 6 rooms, and 1 is for office use, 1/6th of the rent and electricity are business expenses?

On the meals thing, I stay overnight and claim meals back with a valid VAT receipt, nothing wrong with this at all, I also claim £5 ovenight subsistance without receipts as deemed here

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/guidance/480_appendix8.pdf


The maximum amounts of incidental overnight expenses an employer may pay for tax-free are:
•
£5 per night for overnight stays anywhere within the UK, and
•
£10 per night for overnight stays outside the UK.
In calculating the total amount of expenditure any Value Added Tax (VAT) paid must be included.

[affected]

Limited company - staying in hotels

Hi there,

I stay in a hotel 4 nights during the week and in my own house at the weekend.

Apologies if this has been answered before.

I am in a similar situation. If meals cost are not deductible, I dont want to claim. Hotel accommodation and travel cost are deductable right?

Is there any dispute in deducting actual room rent paid to the hotel and the cost of flight tickets?

[FarmerPalmer]

If your company pays a portion of your bills for a 'home office' then you are liable to capital gains tax on that portion of the property when you sell it - because its not residential.

Personally I'd avoid at all costs.

[Sockpuppet]

How about mileage allowance? You can't produce any proof of how far you have travelled?

You can produce contracts that state where your site you will be prociding the services at will be.

If you say you are driving london-scotland every day then they know you are taking the mick.

[shoes]

It is simple, you can only claim expense you have incurred.

How about mileage allowance? You can't produce any proof of how far you have travelled?

[Jason D]

Mortage interest

Why don't you rent office space in your home to your company.

Charge the market rate and no more, minute it and draw up a rent agreement, stipulate business hours only and no visitors.

This means

The rent is an allowable expense for the company

Your rental income is offset or minimised in your self assessment by mortgage interest

No CGT implications

No business rates

[NotAllThere]

£25 for breakfast at a hotel isn't unusual. £25 for lunch is pretty cheap. While you might balk at paying that yourself, if you were there privately, for an employee on business, it's peanuts.

[Epiphone]

Only question left is the definition of "reasonable". Generally, if you keep the average cost per meal below £25 the IR aren't even vaguely interested. If you're spending more than that, stop it -- you'll get fat and die before your time.

Per meal? If you're spending £25 on lunch or breakfast the IR would want to know why wouldn't they?

[Cooperinliverp00l]

if you try to claim your mortgage and proportion of house bills as you are using your home as your office doesn't that mean that it then has to be registered as a business address and liable for business tax. Also some mortgages don't allow you to use your house as a business.

[Ruprect]

Thanks XLM. That's kind of what I figured. Not that I plan on spending that much on a meal like, just that if it does happen that I can put it through the books.

[XLMonkey]

If I go away (abroad) on business does the £25 (equiv) limit on subsistence still exist? If I use the company debit card and keep receipts does this still go on my P11D?

Basically, can I drop £100 on dinner for myself while abroad if I happen to go somewhere expensive? Surely the amount I can claim should be governed by MyCo's policy shouldn't it?

Generally speaking - HMRC are lenient if you are going abroad and end up spending more than the normal guidance on meals etc. The test that the inspector uses is whether, in his/her opinion, the expense was extravagant in the context of the business purpose of the trip.

Because we live in a world where merchant bankers would treat £100 dinner as slumming it (and the tax inspectors see them, as well as you), you would be surprised just how high the expense has to be before it is considered extravagant (you would need to be talking thousands, not hundreds)

[TheFaQQer]

If I go away (abroad) on business does the £25 (equiv) limit on subsistence still exist? If I use the company debit card and keep receipts does this still go on my P11D?

Basically, can I drop £100 on dinner for myself while abroad if I happen to go somewhere expensive? Surely the amount I can claim should be governed by MyCo's policy shouldn't it?

The amount you can claim is governed by your expenses policy.

The amount you can claim without it becoming a BIK is governed by HMRC.

[Ruprect]

If I go away (abroad) on business does the £25 (equiv) limit on subsistence still exist? If I use the company debit card and keep receipts does this still go on my P11D?

Basically, can I drop £100 on dinner for myself while abroad if I happen to go somewhere expensive? Surely the amount I can claim should be governed by MyCo's policy shouldn't it?

[Lucifer Box]

OK, so lets say it's a 200 mile return trip home, then 200*£0.25=£50. I can claim that (after the first 10k miles) but only if I actually travel home.

If I then buy a £200 sleeping bag and then spend £3 on a greasy kebab and sleep in the car, what can I pay myself without upsetting the tax man?

If the expense of the sleeping bag was incurred wholly and necessarily in the course of carrying out your employment you can, of course, claim it as a tax free expense. Be sure though, if you use it for "private mileage" (as it were) that you pay a market rate rental amount to the owner of the capital asset (YourCo). The greasy kebab, of course, would be a subsistance claim.

But again, if you cannot produce receipts for either when challenged by HMCR, you will be presented with a tax bill and possibly a modest fine also.

It is simple, you can only claim expense you have incurred. The idea of a "free claim" exists only the mind of dodgy umbrellas and naiive contractors who fell for their marketing spiel.

[Hiram King Of Tyre]

OK, so lets say it's a 200 mile return trip home, then 200*£0.25=£50. I can claim that (after the first 10k miles) but only if I actually travel home.

If I then buy a £200 sleeping bag and then spend £3 on a greasy kebab and sleep in the car, what can I pay myself without upsetting the tax man?