https://www.proz.com/forum/business_issues/108110-expenses_for_the_self_employed_in_the_uk.html
This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings

Translation - art & business » Business issues »
Expenses for the self-employed in the UK
Thread poster: Dr. Andrew Frankland
Dr. Andrew Frankland
Dr. Andrew Frankland  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:58
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Jun 18, 2008

Here's a link that all UK-based freelancers should have a look at.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/working_lunch/7459639.stm

Andy
 
Carole Paquis
Carole Paquis  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:58
Member (2007)
English to French
I can recommend it Jun 18, 2008

I watched the programme yesterday and it was time very well spent indeed !

Carole
 
Nesrin
Nesrin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:58
English to Arabic
+ ...
Sounded great, until... Jun 18, 2008

Here's what it says:

"A new element is term 'fixed costs' and includes mortgage interest, council tax and home insurance.

(Wow, great, I thought! But then: )

HMRC are content to allow a proportion of these costs to be claimed against the income of the business if certain criteria are met, such as:

* The area of the home is used exclusively for business purposes f... See more
Here's what it says:

"A new element is term 'fixed costs' and includes mortgage interest, council tax and home insurance.

(Wow, great, I thought! But then: )

HMRC are content to allow a proportion of these costs to be claimed against the income of the business if certain criteria are met, such as:

* The area of the home is used exclusively for business purposes for a prescribed amount of time - say, 9am to 5pm - this means that if you sit at the kitchen table working you won't qualify for the additional deductions. (So I suppose the kids coming home at 3 and me preparing dinner for them before 5 isn't allowed here) What the taxman is looking for is an area that has the appearance of an office - so it will contain a desk, chair, storage etc.

* The amount claimed is reasonable in relation to the business - so you can't claim that you work 20 hours a day in the office or that the area used is a large proportion of the living area of your home."

Ok then...


[Edited at 2008-06-18 09:32] ▲ Collapse
 
Sonia Hill
Sonia Hill
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:58
Italian to English
Great news Jun 18, 2008

This should definitely enable me to save some money. One of the rooms in our house is set aside as my designated office and we also have a large mortgage, so any savings I can make are more than welcome.

I am getting all my expense claims ready for my accountant at the moment, so I'll make sure I provide him with details of our mortgage, council tax and home insurance too.
 
James McVay
James McVay  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 13:58
Russian to English
+ ...
U.S. income tax is similar Jun 18, 2008

Not too many years ago claiming a home office was almost a guarantee of an audit by the tax man, but things have loosed up recently. They do expect us to have a dedicated space, but then we can use the percentage of floor space to calculate business deductions for mortgage interest or rent, utilities, home repairs, etc.
 
Charlie Bavington
Charlie Bavington  Identity Verified
Local time: 18:58
French to English
See also Jun 18, 2008

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM47800.htm

Which is the section that the link from WL is under.
The other docs in that section also point elsewhere in the guidance.
I found the WL link made more sense, since it is giving examples, once you've read through the guidance itself.
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Margarita[Call to this topic]
Jorge Rodrigues[Call to this topic]
James Heppe-Smith[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Expenses for the self-employed in the UK


Translation news
» DeepL launches AI-powered sentence editor in Korea
(0 comments)
» Should Language Service Providers Rethink Their Offerings?
(0 comments)
»
(0 comments)


Forum rules
Help and orientation




CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »
Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »