UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi all,

I'm new to this but would like a bit of advice and clarifying if you can please?

I'm filling in my Tax Return form and would like to know the exact rules on claiming expenses for having a "Home Office". I keep reading places that you can claim £208 (£4 a week) for home office expenses to help cut my Tax bill but it seems a grey area. I read that this is an agreed rate that you can claim without the need for receipts etc; and then put this sum in the "Other Expenses" section.

My situation is as follows:

- I have a single property which I rent.
- I have a letting agent which fully manages my property.
- I am in full time employment.
- I do all my own accounts, organising, filing, spread sheets, research etc
- I fill in my own Tax form
- The above 2 I do from my own home/office regularly which can be time consuming.

Could you please confirm the rules on this and if I can claim the £208 as expenses?

Thanks in advance.

Quote from: 74mark1 on January 16, 2014, 07:41:05 PM
Hi all,

I'm new to this but would like a bit of advice and clarifying if you can please?

I'm filling in my Tax Return form and would like to know the exact rules on claiming expenses for having a "Home Office". I keep reading places that you can claim £208 (£4 a week) for home office expenses to help cut my Tax bill but it seems a grey area. I read that this is an agreed rate that you can claim without the need for receipts etc; and then put this sum in the "Other Expenses" section.

My situation is as follows:

- I have a single property which I rent.
- I have a letting agent which fully manages my property.
- I am in full time employment.
- I do all my own accounts, organising, filing, spread sheets, research etc
- I fill in my own Tax form
- The above 2 I do from my own home/office regularly which can be time consuming.

Could you please confirm the rules on this and if I can claim the £208 as expenses?

Thanks in advance.

I do, but then I work from home not employed anywhere else.  Depending on your tax band that's be £41.60 saving on the tax.  Ask yourself A) If it's worth claiming B) If you do claim it and they don't like it can you afford to pay it back?

You may aswell go for it.

Can you smell that?

*sniff.

It has a hint of a one post.

Quote from: boboff on January 17, 2014, 07:13:40 AM
Can you smell that?

*sniff.

It has a hint of a one post.

What an outrageous suggestion!

Thanks Riptide

bob off, not sure what you mean be that, can you explain please?

Quote from: 74mark1 on January 17, 2014, 07:07:33 PM
Thanks Riptide

bob off, not sure what you mean be that, can you explain please?

He wasn't trying to be offensive, it seems me and boboff answer the majority of posts that appear here, unfortunately the majority of posters only post once and are never seen again!  You've proven his skeptical side wrong!

I for that I apolgise, you the main man Mr.

I'll give you my answer.

We were taught as accountants one of the things that make an expense allowable "golden rule" is the expense must be incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of trade.

So a specific call cost is, the line rental isn't if you make private calls on the phone.

So this can get complicated, and it's why things like company cars, lunch allowances, and use of home as office proffer so many chances of different interpretation, as basically, strictly the answer is no, but HMRC do make allowances. They expect you to be reasonable.

Tax returns now go through a computer, and provided that system doesn't flag up any real issues you will be fine. Unless you have a random check, which I think the current thinking is that they haven't got enough money to do.

So basically you want to claim as much as is reasonable, and then make sure income and expenses are smoothed as much as possible as variance analysis plays apart in the inspection audit software I am sure. Then make sure you pay some tax, pay it on time, and keep out of the upper and lower 10% range of the trade classification you choose on your return.

Don't try and be "too clever"

That would be my advice. Don't sweat your £4 a week mate.

The rules for self employed people have changed recently.
https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/overview

I don't see any reason why this shouldn't apply to a second income as well.

Again, its not the rules that have changed, the rules is the rules, the law, this is just the current HMRC way to interpret it and apply it consistently and cost effectively for them ( by that I mean make self employed people pay more tax) This approach has been around for decades, but I suppose used mainly by accountants.