People must be careful when making expense claims and make sure they are within the guidelines set by the Taxman for what is allowable. For many this extends to what is used for work and/or the business and a check over the rule-book. Some, however, clearly misunderstood the meaning of work-related expenses and actually tried to make the following expense claims:
- Flight costs for a holiday to the Caribbean.
- A lovely gesture from a company that provided its employees with luxury watches for Christmas - however under investigation it appeared they had no employees.
- Flight costs for dental treatment.
- Pet food for a guard dog - a particularly odd breed of guard dog, however, a Shih Tzu.
- Painter and decorator's special clothing - it turns out it was Armani jeans.
- Regular Friday night 'sessions' costing thousands.
- Personal underwear.
- Private garden shed not used for business plus rent for the garden space.
- Gambling slips.
- Caravan costs for an Easter getaway.
Tax reliefs and expenses can make a big dent in that dreaded tax bill and it pays be clued up on the varying rules and regulations on what can and cannot be claimed. We have had provided an online tax reliefs and expenses calculator for a number of years now to help with this and illustrate exactly how much a tax bill can be shrunk. The calculator actually helps estimate savings for both self employed and employed people as even those employed under PAYE can make claims for certain expenses.
Expenses can be claimed for up to 4 years so even if a claim hasn't been made for a previous year, a taxpayer has up to 4 years to make it.
A quick reminder that there is now only one week to go now until the final deadline for the Self Assessment Tax Return. The online filing deadline is the 31st January and people missing this date receive an automatic £100 penalty fine regardless of whether they have a tax bill to pay.