With the tax year ending, it’s time to declare and pay your tax. For business owners, every penny matters, which is why it’s vital to thoroughly go through your yearly expenses as well as income and find any tax-deductible expenses that can allow you to pay less on your tax to ensure you’re paying a fair and accurate rate. BNA Consulting has put together a quick list of 5 purchases relevant to the business that you might not have known were tax deductible. If you’ve purchased any of these items or services for your business during the tax year, you can claim money back and save on your taxes!
- Phones
Some business owners can spend hours on the phone with clients and associates. If you use your phone for work, you can claim the expenses back for business calls made on a landline or from your mobile phone. To do this your phone contract or landline bills must be in the name of your business or company, or you need to keep a record of business-related calls as opposed to personal calls if you work using your home landline. With mobile phones, so long as the contract is in the company’s name and personal use is kept to a reasonable minimum then the whole cost of the contract is tax deductible! Get in touch with BNA Consulting to find out more about this process.
- Subscriptions
Subscriptions related to your business can be either fully or partially tax deductible. For example, if you require a Microsoft subscription for your business, then this counts as professional subscriptions and can be deducted from your tax total. This also includes trade or professional journals that help you in your work and trade body or professional organisation memberships if its related to your business. The key to all these tax-deductible purchases is that they have to be directly related to your business, so things such as gym memberships are unlikely to be tax deductible unless you can relate it directly as an essential requirement of your work.
- Car, Van and Transport Expenses
Keep a record of any travel expenses that come from professional needs, such as travelling to and from a meeting or needing to hire a car. This doesn’t include your travel to and from home and the office, but for any extra required travel, you can make a claim. This not only includes taxis, public transport and air travel but also insurance, repairs and servicing, vehicle licence fees, fuel, parking, breakdown cover, hotel rooms and meals on overnight business trips. However, this will not include non-business related travel or any fines you may receive.
- Office, Property and Equipment
You can claim for capital allowances on any item or asset you require for your business, including computers, internet, stationary and rent for business premises. This can include postage costs, printing supplies, a new laptop or computer, business software or computer software, as well as bigger costs like business and water rates, utility bills, security and property insurance. If you work from home, you can claim back on the space you use as your office – i.e. if it’s only one room in your home you use for work you may be able to claim a proportion of your costs such as heating and electricity.
- Staff Parties
There is a fair and reasonable allowance for staff parties for small businesses which are usually deductible for key events, such as the Christmas Party or an annual dinner. This won’t cover large, extravagant events, but if the annual cost of staff parties is kept to around £150 a head and below this should be tax deductible. But be warned, this will only cover one or two event functions, so if you’re having staff parties every couple of months you won’t be covered.
Utilising these tax-deductible purchases on your tax declaration can save you a vast amount in tax and will allow your business to run cost efficiently and sensibly. However, keeping track of these expenditures and declaring them correctly can be an arduous, tricky process – it requires you to keep detailed records, receipts and invoices in a simple, methodical system which can be time-consuming and easy to lose track of.
If you want to ensure you’re getting your best tax rate for your business, get in touch with the experts at BNA Consulting – we know everything you can claim back for and will help file and declare it correctly. We look forward to hearing from you and saving your business time and money!