Business expenses UK: what you can actually claim

‘Can I claim this?’ is the most common message we get. The legal test for sole traders is ‘wholly and exclusively’ for the trade. Limited companies have more flexibility in places and less in others. Neither version is ‘I used it once while working’.

The boring yes-list

Software you need, professional insurance, accountancy, stock, subcontractors, work phones, marketing, bank fees, and a share of home costs if you genuinely work there. Keep the invoice. A bank line that says ‘AMZN’ is not evidence.

The things that start arguments

Clothes (almost never, unless they are a uniform or protective), food (almost never, unless you are travelling), gyms, and anything with a dual purpose you cannot separate. HMRC has seen the ‘brand trip to Barcelona’ before.

Cars, vans and working from home

Mileage at HMRC rates is often cleaner than actual costs. Vans have their own tests, and a van in the brochure is not always a van in tax. Home use can be a flat simplified amount or a reasonable proportion. We pick the one that is both fair and defensible.

How we keep you out of trouble

We would rather leave £120 unclaimed than invent a deduction that opens a whole return. That is the opposite of a claims mill, and it is why clients stay.