Self employed expenses?

[looker123]

Considering going self employed as a subbie, as i have come across a good opportunity.

 

However, I can't get my head around self emplyed tax, and expenses etc.

 

My main curiosity is that travel expenses. It says 45pence per mille for the first 10,000 miles and 25 there after or a fixed rate, think its 60%. Now I would be doing around 100 miles per day travelling to and from the place of work. Would I be able to claim 45p per mile on this? Would work out at £45 a day, seems like an awful lot to say i would only be using £20 worth of fuel? I would run a small van (VW Caddy) therefore fuel wouldn't be much.

 

If this is correct then it would help me out so much. Also could I claim for PPE for example chainsaw trousers, boots etc? and also could I get anything for training? obviously work related?

 

Are there any more perks. Just after some advice and more clear info.

 

Thanks in advance

[Shane]

Theres been a few of these threads before, generally - any expense to do with your work (saws, fuel for saws, maintenance, PPE, a portion of your fuel, vehicle maintenance - the list goes on) can be deducted from your gross income so you only pay tax on what is left after expenses.

Best to have a chat with aan accountant - they should be up to date and able to advise on otherthings like using part of your house for the business and a portion of your phone bill. You'd be surprised - but speak to a professional and don't rely on the bloke down the pub or the Inland Revenue (who claim to offer this service for free).

 

Some years ago I got advice from IN Rev and subsequently got a 4 figure refund after an accountant told me the truth!

[Rupe]

I think your in a muddle

 

You cant "claim" any money! No one is going to give you 45p a mile, or any money back for PPE boots etc.

 

As said above (sorry only just read it fully) you just dont have to pay tax on these things, so you pay less tax at the end of the year if you claim that you have spent money on fuel and PPE etc.

 

I am more concerned about this "opportunity"? Have you been offered a job but as a self employed person?

[looker123]

Yeh i am deffinatly in a muddle. Trying to get my head around it. I see what your saying now about paying less tax at the end of the year. On one website where i have read it says you can claim for the full costs of that vehicle, which means?

 

I did think it was too good to be true with the 45p a mile, how does that actually work then?

 

Sure it will all come togeether.

 

No, sorrry, i might of worded it wrong, I know i could get enough work if i went as a subbie, which is why im considering it. Just want to work out where i would stand with expenses, if i can get anythinng to help me out, etc.

 

Thanks agin

[SAM66S]

Yeh i am deffinatly in a muddle. Trying to get my head around it. I see what your saying now about paying less tax at the end of the year. On one website where i have read it says you can claim for the full costs of that vehicle, which means?

 

I did think it was too good to be true with the 45p a mile, how does that actually work then?

 

Sure it will all come togeether.

 

No, sorrry, i might of worded it wrong, I know i could get enough work if i went as a subbie, which is why im considering it. Just want to work out where i would stand with expenses, if i can get anythinng to help me out, etc.

 

Thanks agin

 

Exactly what it says, if you buy a work truck you can claim the purchasing costs, servicing & running costs fuel etc

[Hodge]

If I was you try to speak to an accountant and they will explain it to you, I will try the basics. Say you earn 25k in a year, then take all your expenses for vehicle running costs like fuel, servicing,tax, then ppe and saws etc, insurance, mobile phone and anything you buy for you work then sau this came to 10k for the year this would leave 15k, then your personal taxable amount is around 8k?? Or whatever it is then that leaves 7k on which you will pay tax. hope that helps

[Mesterh]

As suggested speaking to an account is a good idea.

 

In regards to the mileage thing it is really if you are say using your personal vehicle so you don't claim ALL the expenses on it like you could if it was a works truck so they will let you claim 45p for every mile you do for work purposes only. So you do 1000 miles which means you can reduce your profit by £450 ie you won't be taxed on £450.

 

You must really keep a record of the miles, just a little daily log book will do BUT if you are going to the same site/yard every single day therefore doing the exact mileage everyday it won't look good. That is only if your investigated though, you don't have to submit logs and receipt the the IR every year etc.

 

Make sure you keep EVERY receipt from your business expenses, an accountant will let you know all the things you can claim for.

[Quickthorn]

Yeh i am deffinatly in a muddle. Trying to get my head around it. I see what your saying now about paying less tax at the end of the year. On one website where i have read it says you can claim for the full costs of that vehicle, which means?

 

I did think it was too good to be true with the 45p a mile, how does that actually work then?

 

Sure it will all come togeether.

 

No, sorrry, i might of worded it wrong, I know i could get enough work if i went as a subbie, which is why im considering it. Just want to work out where i would stand with expenses, if i can get anythinng to help me out, etc.

 

Thanks agin

 

 

The way I understand it with travel is that you can choose whether to apply the mileage allowance like you've said, or whether you work out the running costs of your van and use that as your travel expenses.

 

If you do it the first way, it is like you said - 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles. If you're journey is 100 miles a day, you can offset £45 as travel expenses, to be taken off your income to give taxable profit. However, if your daily journey is 100 miles, you'll soon burn through the 10,000 miles at 45p, after which you drop down to 25p. Any journey after that would give you £25 per day for travel.

 

The other way is to work out the full running costs of your van, by keeping records of all your fuel, repairs, tax, insurance etc. You then work out what proportion is business use, and you can use that figure as your expense.

 

You need to choose carefully: once you've picked one method, you have to stick with it for as long as you run that vehicle.

[Kev Stephenson]

You can't claim 45p a mile and all the other expenses that go with running a motor. The 45p is worked out to be an average total running cost for a vehicle taking into account the servicing, tax, insurance, depreciation, etc, etc. This usually applies when using a personal car for business not a van bought specifically for work

 

The easy way to work out what you can list as an expense (claim for in your words) is anything that you would not have bought/spent had you not gone to work. i.e. you need it to be able to do your job

 

e.g you can list safety clothing but not your normal clothing as you would need that anyway.

 

Food and driink is a contentious issue. Some people think you can claim for your dinner each day but surely you would still eat if at home. There are exceptions to this one.

[arbogrunt]

the best thing you can do is work for local companies...no point in spending 2 hours a day driving and £25 a day on diesel when you could just earn the same money with the firm around the corner. As fuel has gone up it has killed freelancing for me..I did £4,000 diesel last year...I now work locally!