How to Claim Business Expenses

The benefit of claiming expenses is that they can reduce your tax bill and help you keep more of your hard-earned money within your company; this is because you can offset the sum of your expenses against your taxable income. However, claiming business expenses can be complicated, and it's important to understand what you can and cannot claim.

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Terry Cowan
What are Business Expenses?

You can define business expenses as the costs associated with running your business, such as rent, utilities, supplies, employee salaries and more. These expenses can all too easily add up and affect your bottom line and company profits, so it's crucial to keep track of them and manage them effectively!

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Terry Cowan
What is IR35 and Its Impact on Your Business

IR35 legislation can significantly influence how you work with contractors and manage your payroll.  If you operate or are involved with a business that engages contractors then it’s really important that you fully understand what IR35 is, how it affects your operation and how to stay compliant to avoid being on the receiving end of an unwanted penalty.

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Cameron Sykes
What Can Trigger a HMRC Investigation?

Having your income & tax payments looked into can be a stressful and difficult time, even if it’s a random check and you haven’t done anything wrong. At Blue Skies we have decades of experience working with companies and individuals who are the recipient of an investigation.

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Cameron Sykes
How Far Back Can a HMRC Investigation Look?

When it comes to tax investigations, HMRC has the power to investigate individuals and businesses at will, with these investigations being designed to ensure that taxpayers are complying with tax laws & regulations and making the correct tax payments in line with their income & costs.

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Cameron Sykes
How Long Does a HMRC Investigation Take?

HMRC investigations are a scary thought for the self-employed and company owners throughout the UK, and rightfully so! An investigation into your reported income, expenses, tax payment and general financial position can be daunting, even if everything has been done by the book.

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Cameron Sykes
What Can an Actor Claim on Tax in the UK

As an actor who’s busy working on your next job and focusing on growing your career it can be hard to understand how to maximise your profits and minimise your tax burden. But, to reduce your taxable income it’s important that you understand what you can and can’t claim on your tax return.

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Cameron Sykes
2024 Spring Statement

On 6th March 2024, Jeremy Hunt delivered the ‘Budget for Long Term Growth’. His speech promised ‘more investment, more jobs, better public services and lower taxes’. 

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TBSP
2023 Autumn Statement

On 22 November 2023, Jeremy Hunt delivered the ‘Autumn Statement for Growth’. Against an improving economic backdrop, the Chancellor is keen to stimulate economic growth and highlighted 110 measures for businesses. In addition, there were significant statements relating to National Insurance changes and also the reform of work-related state benefits.

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TBSP
2023/24 Pension allowance tapering – what does it mean?

Introduced in 2016, Pension Allowance Tapering reduces the annual maximum contribution that can be paid into an individual’s pension pot in any one year for ‘high earning’ individuals. Any pension contributions over this maximum are subjected to a tax charge at the individuals effective tax rate.

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TBSP
2022/23 Pension allowance tapering – what does it mean?

Introduced in 2016, Pension Allowance Tapering reduces the annual maximum contribution that can be paid into an individual’s pension pot in any one year for ‘high earning’ individuals. Any pension contributions over this maximum are subjected to a tax charge at the individuals effective tax rate.

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TBSP
What expenses can you claim as self employed?

If you have already read our previous blogs on self-employed and limited you will know by now that when it comes to allowable expenses, there are a number of key differences between these two trading statuses. In this post we bring together the key points from our previous posts to help you compare and contrast the different forms of status, hopefully providing you with some much needed clarity!

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TBSP
What expenses can you claim as a sole trader?

It would be easy to assume that all expenses incurred by your business also qualify for tax relief and therefore would automatically reduce your income tax bill- unfortunately that is not the case! The purpose of this article is to outline a number of the common types of expenses that a typical sole trader business may encounter along its journey, as well as their normal treatment from a tax perspective.

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TBSP