Items which you use in the office and will last usually less than 2 years are allowable, such as:
- Stationery
- Rent, rates, power and insurance
Stationery
Have a sit in your office and look around you. More than likely, you’ll find everyday items such as pens, paper, envelopes, etc. These are allowable expenses as they are used for everyday functions of your business.
Some examples include:
- Pens
- Paper
- Printer Ink / Cartridges
- Dymo labels
- Phone line, mobile, broadband bills (see this article for information)
- Postage (Stamps or Franking Machines)
- Envelopes
- Computer software licences (such as Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions)
- Corex for displays
- Day-glo stars
You may have other items which you find in your own office. Keep receipts for any such items you purchase as you can claim for these when used for the business.
Rents, rates, power and insurance
If you have a home office, you can claim for the room which you use for Slimming World business purposes. Bills for this could include:
- Rental payments
- Utility bills (e.g. Electricity)
- Property Insurance
You have two options when it comes to using your own home as a office. You can either claim specifically for the items above and proportion their use or use the Simplified Expenses route.
Using the traditional approach, you need to obtain all bills for the period you’re completing your Self Assessment and then proportion these against your floorspace in relation to your home. For example, if you work out that your home office is 10% of your home, you can claim 10% on all of the bills listed above. However, if your business space becomes too unreasonable size wise, you may attract Business Tax from your local council.
Alternatively, you can use the Simplified Expenses route. If using this, you don’t need any bills to be kept for this as it is a flat rate calculation.