When you aim to submit your tax returns, the most imperative part that many of us are interested in is to focus on the business expenses that we can claim back. No matter how minimal business expenses like buying a coffee for your client in a business meeting, you have purchased furniture for office use like an office chair and desk, or you have bought a laptop for work purposes, these all are the kind of business expenses that will be considered. You can easily claim back such business expenses. Out of the frequently asked questions, people sometimes enquire about whether can I expense my bed and pillows.
There is no doubt that HMRC expresses leniency in the matter of considering business expenses. However, there are still cases where people have used this inch as a country mile. Now, considering the concerns and queries about the minimal expenses and where they can be claimed, this article will answer all the frequently asked questions. Further in the discussion of this article, we will focus on the points of how expenses work, what could be the consequences of expenses scandals, whether is allowed to expense my pillows and bed and how aware is HMRC about my business expenses.
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Can I Expense My Bed and Pillows – Why Ask?
As we all are well aware what is defined as business expenses can be claimed easily while submitting tax returns. Expenses refer to the cost you have spent on purchasing anything for the sake of business and you aim to make a claim for this amount to reduce your tax bills. However, this totally depends on your income sources, unique business situation, and the tax-free allowances that you might be getting already, which will decide whether you can claim for a certain expense or not.
In the case of pillows and beds that you purchased for the sake of a business stay somewhere, you do not need to worry about the fear of being ridiculed by exposing it publicly. This will not be smeared across the platform’s social media. However, to make it an authentic expense and part of the claim, you will have to keep the records strongly that can depict your point of claim. It is wise to start maintaining the records as soon as the business tax year begins, this will help to know what exactly you will have to deduct as business expenses.
The Consequences of Expenses Scandals
In the month of May back in the year 2009, a business expenses scandal got popular due to the fraud factors involved in it. This chaos erupted at Westminster and assorting to the details shared by the reports of The Telegraph, some pricey and outlandish business expenses were claimed by the hoards of MPs. The process took around five weeks and the people who were found involved had to face serious consequences. Two peers and five MPs were found involved in this case to be exact.
HMRC is Well Aware of Your Justified Expenses
This will not be fair to think that HMRC will not be aware enough to keep a track of the exact evidence about your business expenses. Due to the conscious awareness of HMRC, the MPS as discussed above was found guilty of claiming dubious business expenses. This is because HMRC is well aware of the weird expenses that we try to claim with every submission of self-assessment tax returns. This is the reason that HMRC keeps a conscious track of the shreds of evidence and keeps a check to confirm whether the business expense that is being claimed is authentic enough to accept or not.
The Bottom Line
Now that you have gathered a fair amount of information about whether can I expense my bed and pillows, we can say that there is no harm in making a claim of the minimal purchases like pillows and beds if the reason for buying involved the business purpose only. There shouldn’t be any fear of getting ridiculed over the platforms of social media for such minimal business expenses to be part of your claim. However, you must focus on the authentic pieces of evidence that can prove the validity of the purchase as well as the business reasons. We hope these few minutes of reading will help you to develop a better understanding of business expenses and how to make it a successful claim.
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