Can I expense general travel expenses?

There are two methods you can use to work out your allowable home expenses: you can claim a flat rate allowance (also known as simplified expenses), or claim a proportion of your bills. For further information on these methods, refer to our expenses and allowances guide for limited company directors and the self-employed.

If you're a sole trader and aren't sure which method is the better option for your business, you can use Gov.uk's simplified expenses checker tool.

If you're renting an office, you can claim utilities as a deductible expense.

If you're using your home as an office, you'll need to work out the proportion of your utilities that you can allocate to business use in order to claim these costs as a deductible expense.

For further information on allowable business expenses, refer to our expenses and allowances guides for limited company directors and the self-employed.

You can't claim for the costs of entertaining clients, suppliers and customers.

For further information on allowable business expenses, refer to our expenses and allowances guides for limited company directors and the self-employed.

As a sole trader:

If you're using your mobile phone line for both business and personal use, you can't claim for line rental. However, you can claim for call costs for business use if you obtain an itemised bill. If you have a separate mobile phone line for business use, you can claim the costs incurred.

As a limited company director:

1. Mobile phone: If your mobile phone contract is between your company and mobile phone provider, and is used for solely business purposes, you can claim the entire bill as an allowable expense.

If you have a personal contract, you can claim for the costs incurred for business calls. You're also able to reclaim the VAT element of the business calls.

2. Landline: If your landline contract is solely for business use, you can claim the cost as an allowable expense. You can also claim for business calls you've made using your home phone line.

For further information on allowable business expenses, refer to our expenses and allowances guides for limited company directors and the self-employed.

As a contractor, freelancer or small business owner, it's important that you make the most of what you can claim-especially as the trips you make can add up over time. Here's an example: if you make a 25-mile round trip twice a week, it adds up to 2,400 miles a year. That's £1,080 that you can as deduction against your business revenue.

To learn more, read our guide on how to claim business mileage.

As a contractor, there are a vast number of different expenses that can be claimed for when working through a limited company.

These expenses must be deemed wholly, exclusively and necessary for business to carry out it's duties and some examples can include:

• Travel
• Food (subsistence)
• Accommodation
• Computer & office equipment
• Postage & Stationery
• Accountancy & professional fee's
• Insurance
• Telephone & internet

You must keep your records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year.

The costs of purchasing magazines, books and journals can be claimed as a deductible expense, as long as these items are required for your business (e.g. trade publications, professional journals, training materials).

For further information on allowable business expenses, refer to our expenses and allowances guides for limited company directors and the self-employed.

Taxi fares are generally deductible, as long as the fares aren't incurred for ordinary commuting. According to HMRC, a commute is a trip you make most days between your home and permanent workplace.

For further information on allowable business expenses, refer to our expenses and allowances guides for limited company directors and the self-employed.

The portability of a laptop brings in a layer of complexity, as they tend to be purchased for both business and personal use. You can claim it as an expense, but you will need to apportion between business and personal use.

For further information on allowable business expenses, refer to our expenses and allowances guides for limited company directors and the self-employed.

As a sole trader, you can't claim pension contributions as a deductible expense. However, you can get personal tax relief from contributions you make into your pension scheme.

If you're a limited company director, you have the option of making pension contributions through your company. This will reduce your company's profits, and as such reduce the amount of corporation tax your company pays.

For further information on allowable business expenses, refer to our expenses and allowances guides for limited company directors and the self-employed.

• Christmas expenses overview
• Staff party claims
• Gift voucher claims
• Gift claims

There may be times when you have no option but to use your personal funds to cover company costs such as paying by cash or if you forget to bring your company card. It's important to keep a copy of the receipt of all expenses but this is especially important when paying for costs and expenses personally. This way, a record of the cost can be kept, logged in your company accounts and then your company can reimburse you for this.