claiming water

[A.K WINDOWS]

Any of you guys claim for water on your tax return im not on a meter but pay a standard set rate was just wondering if this can be done or not.

Thanks

 

[johnny bravo]

yes , electric if you have a home R O kit, on for about 4-8 hours daily, i never thought about it that way

 

[A.K WINDOWS]

yes , electric if you have a home R O kit, on for about 4-8 hours daily, i never thought about it that way

yeah i have a 4040 set up in shed

 

[Cookie]

If you pay a standard water rate, which you would have to pay anyway for your domestic use, I don't think you can claim. If you're on a water meter it might be different...

 

[spruce]

As @Cookie says, you can't claim any portion of it for the reason he gave. If you are on a meter you can claim for the water you use, but you have to have proof of your claim. So you would have a submeter on your tap that supplies your r/o and you would claim that portion against tax. The water you use in the home would be excluded.

 

[A.K WINDOWS]

ok thanks fellas

 

[Hawke]

Of course you can claim if you are using your water!

I'm in Scotland so water billed as part of my council tax and a portion of that is claimed each year.

Doesn't matter if you'd pay for it normally or not, if a portion is used for business use (and filling your tank is a business use) then you claim that percentage. Same goes for gas/electric if you do any of your work from home.

Got HMRC's webpages on gov.uk for details if you're unsure.

 

[spruce]

Of course you can claim if you are using your water!
I'm in Scotland so water billed as part of my council tax and a portion of that is claimed each year.

Doesn't matter if you'd pay for it normally or not, if a portion is used for business use (and filling your tank is a business use) then you claim that percentage. Same goes for gas/electric if you do any of your work from home.

Got HMRC's webpages on gov.uk for details if you're unsure.

Please can you give us a reference to that. This would be helpful as I got a different answer directly from them.

I had a meeting with the receiver and this was one of the questions I asked. I was told emphatically that I could only claim if we were on a meter and we took detailed readings of the amount of water we used. If we weren't metered then we would have to pay that amount anyway for residential living so we can't claim any portion of it.

Yes, we can claim a % of the gas and electric that we self assess we use to run the business from home. They confirmed that. After all we would use extra electricity for washing clothes and keeping the van for freezing solid in winter etc. Yes, we can claim a portion of the phone rental and costs as they will be used for business as well. The % is how you self assess your business to private use and would have to be reasonable according to their assumptions and judgement.

The other question I asked was that of work clothing. Only if you have your company logo/business name embossed/sewn onto them can you claim them. Shoes don't count unless they are steel capped and they are a safety item needed to accomplish your day to day activities. I was told we would need to provide a satisfactory reason why we would need steel capped boots for window cleaning if asked. Their statement to me was that they weren't a safety item for window cleaning so couldn't be claimed.

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[Hawke]

The joys of an incompetent civil service. Often these things come down to how an individual Inspector chooses to apply the legislation and what they will let through or not. My father used to go out on these trips and it often came down to a level of negotiation.

I'll be happy to find the guidance when I get a moment but HMRC leaves it up to the taxpayers to read and apply their legislation and comes in at a later date to say whether or not they won't let something through. And if you speak to someone you'll get a varying answer each time....

 

[spruce]

The joys of an incompetent civil service. Often these things come down to how an individual Inspector chooses to apply the legislation and what they will let through or not. My father used to go out on these trips and it often came down to a level of negotiation.
I'll be happy to find the guidance when I get a moment but HMRC leaves it up to the taxpayers to read and apply their legislation and comes in at a later date to say whether or not they won't let something through. And if you speak to someone you'll get a varying answer each time....

This is the problem with this department. You can claim whatever you like as expenses on your tax return. The drama is when they decide or their computer redflags your expenses too high as an established single operator window cleaner for your turnover. Its called self assessment and its up to you to self assess your business and private use percentages. But if you become the subject of an investigation then it becomes their assessment of your business expenses that counts, not yours.

If they find an 'inconsistency' in last year's tax return, then you can count on them digging back through X number of previous years and then being added to their watch list.

I would imagine very few of us have come under the scrutiny of the tax man as our business turnover against expenses is probably not worth the cost of an investigation.

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