self assessment

[westi1917]

Hi, i have just recently finished being self employed due to increasing business costs, im due to do my self assessment. what can i claim for. i got my tax stopped at source by the firm i sub-contracted to. i have kept all my receipts for diesel, tools, ppe etc. i wore the uniform which had the companies logo on the uniform. can i claim back for washing the uniform each week. what else can i claim for? your help will be appreciated. many thanks

[King_Prawn]

You said that you kept diesel bills. Did you also keep any mileage records because you will invariably find that mileage allowance will lead to higher expenses than a business percentage of your vehicle's running costs.

 

If you did not keep mileage expenses then you can claim the business proportion of the vehicle running costs (i.e. diesel, insurance tax and repairs). You can also claim a capital allowance on the vehicle. If it was owned before you commenced self employment then you need to base the allowance on the market value at the start of trade. You can obtain this value from a Glasses Guide or similar publication.

 

You can also claim for use of home as office - this will be the total of utility bills (not telephone), property insurance, council tax and rent or mortgage interest divided by the number of rooms in the property times by the proportion of the day the room is used for business.

 

You can claim for business calls on your home and mobile phone - best way it to get an itemised bill and mark the calls on these bills and claim for them.

 

You can claim for parking fees but NOT fines.

 

You can for cleaning but do not make the claim too large. Around £2.50 a week.

 

Obviously, you can claim for tools and materials used in the projects worked.