40 Allowable Expenses You Can Claim On Your Self Assessment Tax Return

[@eddieita8134]

I like your presentation. Simple and clear...

[@whyyoulidl]

Thanks! Most useful and informative 👍

[@nickgreen8268]

My accountant told me that claiming business use on your home, say 20%, would leave you subject to a capital gains tax liability on 20% the house price increase over the period that you claimed when you sell.

[@TomassSipko]

Hi there! First of all - an amazing and really informative video. I got a question though. Basically, I run a business from home and I'm using 2 rooms for it. One of these 2 rooms serve as a warehouse, is fully stacked with inventory and packing materials and is used only for business. How do I calculate the monthly usage of that room? Thank you.

[@gosimpletax]

Hi Tomass, thank you for your kind words - we really appreciate it! In regards to your use of your home as an office, I have provided a link below that will allow you to calculate the amount you can claim: www.gosimpletax.com/work-from-home-allowance-calculator/#:~:text=You%20can%20claim%20a%20flat,the%20more%20you%20can%20claim. Hope this helps you? Please do let me know! - LR

[@JLJ2025]

Fantastic info, please can you help me with info about training costs? Can I claim them back? Is there a set amount I can claim back or is it a percentage of the cost etc?

[@gosimpletax]

Hi! You may claim the entire amount providing that the training costs carried out maintained/improved your skills in whichever trade/industry you're in. If they taught you new skills, you won't be able to claim for them. This is under the assumption that you're self-employed. Hope this helps you? - LR

[@JLJ2025]

@@gosimpletax Thank you. Yes, I am self employed as a coach and mentor. I have been running my business and making a small profit for the last 3 years but 2024 - 2025 tax year, I have taken time out to focus on making the business more successful, by investing in training, doing a level 7 in coaching and mentoring, now have my own mentor and coach providing me 6 months support, as well as did a short course on business marketing to improve my own business, that provides me with a better pricing strategy and clarity on reaching my target audience. Would I be right in saying all of these could be claimed under training costs?

[@VeronicaCrusnevschi]

Hi! Thank you for all your informative videos. I have a question, if you could help me please. My father in law recently started to work as subcontractor for a CIS contractor. His weekly pay has 20% deduction which is fine, I can declare that when submitting tax return. However, he is receiving a weekly £150 for subs (meals), which are not included in his payslips from the contractor. My question is: are these taxable? How do we declare these on his self -assessment? Do we add all the subs and add these to his turnover and then the same amount of subs deduct as allowable expenses?

[@gosimpletax]

Hi there. If the £150 amount is granted weekly on a flat rate without requiring receipts, then it'd be taxable as it'd be viewed as income. If the £150 is reimbursed directly against actual expenses incurred (i.e. receipts for each meal), then it won't be liable to tax. For definitive guidance, I'd suggest consulting HMRC. I hope this helps - AG

[@Drainingtheswamp2022]

The whole thing blows my mind 😂

[@Antonio89C]

Can i claim the expenses for the food i eat at work?

[@gosimpletax]

Please check out our blog - www.gosimpletax.com/blog/disallowable-expenses-what-cant-you-claim/

[@andrewsims8135]

Hi Adam help I am just about to do self assent on my rental house . First time

[@jeanettestafford9583]

in the simplified travel - is meals hotels etc included or extra?

[@gosimpletax]

Under simplified expenses, no they're not included as part of the flat rate. Flat rate approach only covers vehicle-related expenses like fuel, insurance, maintenance etc, I hope this helps :) - AG

[@paul301]

As a lorry driver I have to pick up a lorry from the yard which is a set location, so would my travel expenses to the yard be allowable?

[@bilyanahristova3183]

No. Traveling from home to the yard is considered ordinary commuting and it's not eligible for a claim.

[@campcop9214]

I heard about a home allowance if working from home, i assume for electricity etc how is this calculated though? If you work 100% from home say. Same goes for internet use, how do you know how much was for business and personal, just say 50/50?

[@gosimpletax]

If you check out our work from home calculator we explain everything in our FAQ section at the bottom of the page - www.gosimpletax.com/work-from-home-allowance-calculator - I hope this helps - AG

[@campcop9214]

@gosimpletax thanks, so we just do that and add it on ourselves to the costs part of the form? No need to have any supporting evidence? Feels like it would be pretty hard to calculate, how many hours your using a room or even how many hours your working full stop. Since at home doing this 100% of the time on and off through the day

[@sandhyarathod817]

What about meals? Are they allowable expense?

[@gosimpletax]

Meals are only an allowable expense if you’re on a business trip and they’re purchased on said trip (the idea is that it’s allowable because it’s outside of your usual routine). If you want to claim for food that you’ve purchased on a standard lunch break, for example, this won’t be allowable as you’ll have bought it anyway. Hope this helps? If not, please do let me know. - LR

[@najibhaidari8438]

how do you calculate all these expenses incurring as result of working from home?

[@gosimpletax]

If you are referring to bills and you are self-employed, you apportion it in relation to the rooms used as well as hours used. Hope this helps you? Again, please do let me know if you need anything else and I will be happy to help you :) - LR

[@najibhaidari8438]

@gosimpletax Thansk a lot for your patient. I tried to use a simple tax calculator from your website but faced a challenge, which is: adding the date not sure which date bcaus3 I'm trying to add a total cost of everything for whole year. 2 Do I have to add each month or whole year? For instance, my house rent. 3- When say aportuon is this calculator will decided that portion or it is me to make estimation? 4 once I finished, can I directly get the outcome to my tax return report, or do I have to use the data only?

[@dancamilleri6737]

Can you do a video on this topic for self employed delivery drivers. Alot of people like me now doing uber or deliveroo.

[@gosimpletax]

This blog may help you - www.gosimpletax.com/blog/allowable-expenses-self-employed-couriers-and-delivery-drivers/

[@jamie-u9y5d]

Hey, for reselling goods, buying stock to resell, lets say i have all stock calculated and all ready to put for allowable expenses. How does HMRC know im not lying or how do they know its accurate? What if i bought stock in cash or a bank account not connected to me?

[@gosimpletax]

HMRC operate on a good-will basis whereby you're expected to state the truth and they'll take whichever figures you submit as facts. If they'd like, they could open an investigation into you whereby you'd be asked for your receipts, bank transactions etc, to provide context for the entries made on your tax returns. Hope this helps? - LR

[@KnoedKnoed]

Thank you so much for sharing 💯 It's very useful information. I have a question that needs your help. I am an UberEat driver. Can I know is the mileage from home to the workplace is considered personal use? For example, drive the car from home to the place to wait for the order. Would that still count as work-related? Also, from that place to home, would it count as work-related? And sometimes we will stay in the car to wait for the next order. Will the waiting still count as work? Or does it count for personal use? Thanks a lot for your help😊

[@royobrien]

Not a professional. However the restaurant is a temporary place of work and not a permanent place of work therefore claiming for the mileage should be allowable under this circumstance. I claim for all mileage from the moment I switch the car on to the moment I finish for the night when delivering and track my mileage covered by using strava or looking at the mileage clock and comparing it from start to the end.

[@bilyanahristova3183]

​@@royobrienhave you claimed this way for some time? Do you do it on your own or you use agent services?

[@dildilpakistan7535]

If traveling to a permanent work place so you cant claim fuel or you cant claim all the things related to travel like hire purchase interest capital allowance for car repair mot insurance etc?

[@gosimpletax]

No, you can’t claim for these if you’re employed. If you’re self-employed, please see www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed - LR

[@azrahussain456]

Hi there, if a person is employed and self employed as a delivery driver what expenses are allowable as i know business insurance is allowable but if the person has petrol receipts and car repairs receipts should they just claim for mileage or list separately could you please advise

[@gosimpletax]

This blog may help answer your question - www.gosimpletax.com/blog/allowable-expenses-self-employed-couriers-and-delivery-drivers/

[@elainec.1444]

Question: As a freelancer, i am earning from working as a freelance (developer) during at night. I am planning to start making my KZbin channel, can I consider allowable tax expenses when I buy videocamera even my channel is not yet earning money?

[@gosimpletax]

Yes, these are called pre-trading expenses and should be claimed on your first day of trading - AG

[@ertana7609]

I'm selling servers and computers online last five years from home, my vision fded up by looking at screen at least 12 hours per day, I went to a famous opticians for test ended up with two glasses one cheap for £25 and an expensive one £155, actually they came as 2 in 1 for £180, can I claim on my self assessment as business expense considering my work fd up my eyes? Half serious question

[@gosimpletax]

Due to the duality of benefit being both personal and for business, I'm not sure how HMRC would interpret you claiming it as an expense. You'd be best off consulting them for definitive guidance on how to proceed. Hope this helps? - LR

[@telopian]

if i run an online business, can i claim self storage as a expense

[@cameronherd7112]

If the storage is for the online business, yes.

[@DavidEvans-b5b]

Hi Adam help I am just about to do self assent on my renta

[@gosimpletax]

Hi David, this blog may be able to help you - www.gosimpletax.com/blog/landlords-guide-to-completing-tax-return/

[@stephenprice5882]

How come other tax advisors dont ever even mention this! Is this all really claimable?

[@gosimpletax]

Hi Stephen! All tax advisors differ in their approach to tax returns, so while the drafting process may differ from one advisor to the other, generally the end result is the same. Hope this helps? - LR

[@JamesFosterSailing]

You can no longer claim mortgage interest

[@gosimpletax]

You can find out more here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHrLg4qil9maoJo

[@JamesFosterSailing]

@ www.gov.uk/government/publications/furnished-holiday-lettings-tax-regime-abolition/abolition-of-the-furnished-holiday-lettings-tax-regime

[@davidwithnalll2987]

Does one need to be VAT registered to claim back these expenses or are they available to all sole traders?

[@gosimpletax]

Hi David, they're available to all sole traders :) - AG