As a self-employed worker, every legitimate expense you claim reduces your tax bill. Yet many people miss deductions they are fully entitled to. Here are five commonly overlooked expenses.
1. Home Office Costs
If you work from home, you can claim a proportion of your household costs — heating, electricity, broadband, and even rent or mortgage interest. HMRC allows a simplified flat rate of up to six pounds per week, or you can calculate the actual proportion of your home used for business.
2. Professional Subscriptions
Trade body memberships, professional journals, and industry-specific software subscriptions are all allowable expenses. If you pay for tools like accounting software, design tools, or cloud storage for business use, claim them.
3. Mileage
If you use your personal vehicle for business, you can claim mileage allowance relief. Cars qualify for 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter. Motorcycles get 24p per mile. Many people either forget to track their trips or do not realise they can claim.
4. Phone and Internet
If you use your personal phone or internet connection for business, you can claim the business proportion. Keep a log of business versus personal usage to support your claim.
5. Training and Development
Courses, books, and training that update or maintain your existing skills (rather than acquiring entirely new ones) are deductible. This includes CPD courses, workshops, and relevant textbooks.
Track Everything with Vecti
The key to claiming all your expenses is consistent tracking. Vecti makes it easy to log expenses as they happen, categorise them correctly, and see exactly how much tax relief you are earning in real time.