After all that self-indulgent Christmas spending and festive hangover, the daunting reality of January has hit us and we have started thinking about cutting on unnecessary expenses and ways to stretch our money. But instead of talking about ways to save money, let’s speak about one smart way to make some.
Few people are aware that they may be entitled to claim a tax rebate for business expenses. This refers to the money that you pay from your pocket in doing your job. Today, we want to unmask the following tax allowances and reliefs that you may not know about:
Tools and specialist clothing – if you wear protective clothing/uniform at work or buy your own specialist tools and don’t get any reimbursements from your employer, you could be entitled to get back a percentage of the tax that you have paid. Examples of employees who are usually eligible for a refund are: policemen, hairdressers, builders, traders, etc.
Business mileage or fuel – if you use your own car or pay for fuel out of your own money, you may be able to get some of these expenses back.
Capital allowances – if you have to buy costly equipment that is necessary to carry out your job (e.g. furniture, machinery, etc.), you could claim tax relief against these costs.
Household expenses – if you work at home, this type may apply to you. You can get tax back for things like energy or telephone bills.
Professional fees and subscriptions – it may be that you need to be registered with professional bodies or have special licenses in order to develop your professional activities. In this case, professional fees and subscriptions could be your best ally.
Travel and subsistence costs – this applies if you do business travel (like visiting clients), have to stay away from home and/or pay for meals.
If you have identified yourself with any of the cases above, get a claims company to do the paperwork on your behalf or contact HMRC directly to process the claim, and get a tax refund now!