Hi could anyone help answer this: With Self assessment what bank charges and interest can I claim? Can I claim for interest/charges from accounts other than my main business one??
For example can I claim interest/charges from my personal bank account and credit card which I sometimes use for my business?
Thanks for your help.
Simon
Replies (7)
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Probably not
The way you choose to manage your personal finances and the cost associated with that is not a business expense.
Claim charges and interest if...
If charges and interest directly arise on a private bank or credit card account directly as a result of business expenditure then they should be claimable.
The art is in identifying the correct amount to claim where there's also private expenditure on the same account(s).
The above holds true for a sole trader, unlikely to be valid for a director's personal account used to pay for a limited company's expenditure.
Regarding the "correct amount" to claim in the most simplistic terms if a credit card has a balance on it of £1,000 of which £500 is in respect of business expenditure then half the interest would be claimable as business expenditure. It gets a bit messy when there's a constant flow of transactions over a period of time, some business and some private, however with an appropriately formulated Excel spreadsheet then the maths can be done to ascertain the amount of interest arising directly as a result of business expenditure.
Can I suggest
That you open an No2 current account at the bank and use this for business only. Also if you have more than 1 credit card why not use one for business items.
Credit card interest????
It was my understanding that interest on credit cards was not allowable???
Different Self-employed / Ltd Co
Sue,
My understanding is that, as for so many things, the rules are different as between self-employment and limited company.
The allowability or otherwise of interest costs as a business cost of self-employment depends on general Schd-type principles, not what type of loans are involved.
Interest claimed in a personal tax return for the specified categories of allowable purpose, (which a Ltd Co shareholder/director would claim under), ss 383 - 405 Inc Tax Act 2007 is only possible on loans, s384 prevents relief on overdrafts & credit cards.