Working From Home Expenses

I have spoken to a few people lately and they are unaware of the 2 ways of clai

ming expenses if they run work from home.

The Flat Rate Method

This method is simply worked out by working out how many hours a m

onth you spend running your Business at home, and is a fixed amount but can vary month to month

• 25 - 50 Hours = £10 per month

• 51 - 100 Hours = £18 per month

• 101 Hours or more = £26 per month

Using this method is quicker than working out actual costs . although could be lower amount, so you would save time but pay more tax

The Cost Method

With the Cost Method you need to work out a percentage which is reasonable between the private element of the cost working from home, which is reasonable. For example if you are a Decorator you may do a bit of admin but most work will be done at clients premises, but if you are a Web Designer you will do most of your work at home

You can work out how many rooms you have in your home and identify the rooms used for your Business and how much time you spend in these rooms

So if there are 10 rooms in your home and you use one 90% of the time for business use, you can add up all the costs that are claimable and divide by 10 and then calculate 90% of the figure to work out the amount you can use for home costs.

Costs you can claim:

• interest only on the mortgage

• Rent

• Council Tax

• Light & Heat

• Telephone & Internet

• Repairs, if they relate to the area which is used for Business

I hope this explains the difference between the two types of Home costs which can be claimed, if you have any questions please drop us a message and we will do our best to answer them

Best Wishes '

Tracy