Working from home under simplified expenses; What other Business-proportion expenses can be claimed?

Working from home under simplified expenses

Didn't find your answer?

Under simplified expenses scheme:

What other Business-proportion expenses can be claimed for working from home in addition to the flat rate of £10, £18 or £26 per month?

To my knowledge, we also can claim the business-proportion of the following expenses:

Telephone & Internet, House rent, Council tax and Mortgage interest.

Am I missing something?  Your help is highly appreciated...

Replies (12)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

avatar
By Accountant A
17th Oct 2016 00:51

I agree with you.

Use of the flat rate deduction for household running costs does not prohibit a separate deduction for fixed costs such as council tax (or domestic rates in Northern Ireland), insurance and mortgage interest, where an identifiable proportion can be attributed to business use.

Thanks (1)
avatar
By Adam12345
16th Oct 2016 20:15

i do not agree with you

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Manchester_man
16th Oct 2016 21:24

I agree with all three of you

Thanks (1)
By mrme89
17th Oct 2016 08:10
Thanks (0)
By Tim Vane
16th Oct 2016 23:10

I agree/disagree/both/don't know/don't care. *

* Delete as applicable.

Thanks (3)
RLI
By lionofludesch
17th Oct 2016 08:44

https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/working-from-home

This link is as good as anything. As far as I can work out, flat rate just covers gas, electricity and water.

Thanks (3)
avatar
By CMDM
18th Oct 2016 09:16

"The monthly flat rate includes all household running costs, such as heat, light, power, telephone and broadband/internet costs."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/revenue-and-customs-brief-14-...

Thanks (0)
Replying to CMDM:
RLI
By lionofludesch
18th Oct 2016 09:43

"The flat rate doesn’t include telephone or internet expenses."

https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/working-from-home

So there is a dichotomy of opinion within HMRC.

Take your pick......

Thanks (3)
avatar
By AshleafAccountancy
19th Oct 2016 11:22

I have recently taken the core papers of the ATT qualification and we were taught that the flat rate is to cover the additional running costs of being at home such as heat, light, power, telephone and broadband/internet costs. You can then claim a proportion of fixed costs such as council tax, mortgage interest and insurance on top of that if an identifiable proportion can be attributed to business use (e.g. using office space)

Thanks (2)
Replying to AshleafAccountancy:
avatar
By Mister E
19th Oct 2016 17:43

As mentioned above HMRC guidance states in one place it covers telephone and in another it doesn't.
Personally as I have it in black and white it doesn't I am claiming the additional phone/internet costs as well as the 'fixed' expenses; and it makes sense it only covers 'running' costs of heat/light as that is likely to be minimal whereas a telephone could be easily be near on 100% business.
These simplified expenses are useful for those doing a bit of consultancy, etc on the side at home who don't want to go down the road of keeping detailed records.

Thanks (0)
By cfield
19th Oct 2016 12:30

You're better off avoiding simplified expenses altogether. In fact, you should run a mile from anything they describe as "simplified" as it's usually just a euphemism for moving the goalposts in their favour. Normally, gas and electricity command quite high percentages in a "use of home as office" calculation as you're heating and lighting the home when it would otherwise be empty. Even if it isn't, you can still claim a fair proportion for extra consumption. As for broadband, you can claim say 90% if it is mainly used for business. A bit better than their measly £10 per month!

Thanks (4)
Replying to cfield:
RLI
By lionofludesch
26th Oct 2016 17:43

cfield wrote:
As for broadband, you can claim say 90% if it is mainly used for business. A bit better than their measly £10 per month!

But broadband isn't included in the £10 a month.

Personally, I'd work it out at least once; if the difference wasn't huge, I'd consider not doing it again. You have to balance the tax benefit against the cost of doing the sums.

I had a client who went to great lengths to demonstrate that his costs were about £150 more than the flat rate. He was gutted when I pointed out that would save him £30 in tax, rather than £150.

Thanks (0)