Expenses: what you can actually claim.

The golden rule

An expense is allowable if it is incurred wholly and exclusively for the business. Every £100 you claim saves roughly £26 in tax and National Insurance at the basic rate. The habit that makes it all work: photograph every receipt the moment you get it. No receipt usually means no claim.

The everyday claims

Tools and equipment, right down to drill bits and blades. Protective clothing: steel-toe boots, hi-vis, hard hats, overalls (but not ordinary clothes, even if you only wear them for work). Materials you buy for jobs. Public liability, tool and professional indemnity insurance. Trade body subscriptions: Gas Safe, NICEIC, JIB, CSCS renewals. Accountancy and bookkeeping fees. Bank charges on a business account. Advertising, website costs and the business share of your phone bill — or the whole bill on a dedicated work phone, which is usually the cleaner answer.

Vehicles: mileage or actual costs

Two methods. Simplified mileage: 45p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles each year and 25p after that (24p per mile for motorbikes), covering fuel, insurance, servicing and depreciation in one rate, with just a mileage log to keep. Or actual costs: claim the business proportion of everything the vehicle really costs — fuel, insurance, repairs, and capital allowances on what you paid for it. For heavily-used work vans the actual method is often worth more, but once you pick a method for a vehicle you generally stick with it, so choose with a calculation rather than a guess. Commuting-style travel to a single permanent workplace does not count; travel between jobs and to suppliers does.

Home office: flat rate or proportion

If you do your quotes, invoicing and admin at home, claim for it. The simplified flat rate needs no receipts, just a note of your hours:

The alternative is the actual-costs method: a fair proportion of rent or mortgage interest, council tax, heating, electricity and broadband, based on rooms used and hours. It takes more record-keeping but is almost always worth more if you regularly work from home or have a dedicated office room. If you only do a few hours of paperwork a week, the flat rate is easier and perfectly adequate.

What you cannot claim

Ordinary clothing, everyday commuting, client entertaining, gym memberships, parking fines and speeding tickets, and the personal share of anything mixed-use. Claiming these is what draws HMRC's attention to everything else, so keep the claims clean and defendable.

This guide is for general information only and does not constitute professional tax, legal or financial advice. Figures relate to the 2026/27 tax year. Consult a qualified adviser about your circumstances. Bookkeeping Partner Ltd is registered with the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.