There are many allowable expenses you can claim to legitimately reduce the amount of tax
you pay. We’ve rounded up 12 Self Assessment expenses that you may be unaware of.

To help you to start saving money, take a look at our list of Self Assessment expenses you
can claim against your tax bill.

1. Office supplies
HMRC will allow you to claim a range of expenses pertaining to office supplies, including:
• Your desk phone
• Your mobile phone
• A fax machine
• Postage costs
• Business stationery
• Printing costs
• Printer ink and cartridges

2. Donations to charity
Typically, charitable donations are either made through:
• Gift Aid
• Directly from your wages or pension through a Payroll Giving scheme
• Land, property or shares
• Your will

3. Mileage costs
Do you travel as part of your business? You should be claiming a mileage allowance as part
of your Self Assessment return.

If you drive a car or van for work, you can claim 45p off your tax bill for every mile travelled
up to 10,000 miles. After that, the amount you can claim is reduced to 25p.

While you’re thinking about mileage permitted, it’s also worth looking at the other travel
expenses you can claim on your Self Assessment return.

Allowable business expenses include:
• Vehicle insurance
• Repairs and servicing
• Fuel
• Parking
• Hire charges
• Vehicle licence fees
• Breakdown cover
• Train, bus, air, and taxi fares
• Hotel rooms
• Meals on overnight business trips

4. Legal and financial costs
When calculating your Self Assessment expenses, you should also include any costs
associated with hiring an accountant, solicitor, surveyor, architect, or any other professional
you’ve paid to assist you.

5. Unpaid invoices
HMRC allows you to claim for any amount of money included in your turnover that you
aren’t planning to receive.

You aren’t allowed to claim for any unpaid debts that:
• Are not included in your turnover
• Are related to the disposal of fixed assets, such as land, buildings, or machinery
• Are not properly calculated

6. Marketing costs
HMRC will allow you to claim business expenses for:
• Any advertising you’ve done in newspapers or directories
• Bulk mail advertising (or “mailshots”)
• Any costs associated with free samples you’ve produced and distributed
• Website hosting and maintenance costs

7. Clothes
Permitted clothing expenses include:
• Work-related uniforms
• Protective clothing needed for your work
• Costumes for actors or entertainers

8. Staff costs
If you employ permanent workers, seasonal employees, or contractors to help you run your
business, you can claim a wide range of expenses associated with their employment when
filing your Self Assessment return, including:
• Employee and staff salaries
• Bonuses
• Pensions
• Benefits
• Agency fees
• Subcontractors
• Employer’s National Insurance
• Business-related training courses

9. Subscriptions
Are you subscribed to any professional bodies or trade publications that directly feed into
your job? If so, then you can claim the costs of those subscriptions as Self Assessment
expenses.

10. Your mortgage and utilities
You can claim a proportion of your gas, electric, water, broadband and telephone bills as
allowable expenses when working from home. However, you must calculate how much of
each bill actually applies to your business.

11. Council tax
If your home office accounts for 20% of the space in your property, then you are allowed to
claim up to 20% of the cost of your council tax on your annual Self Assessment tax bill.

12. Flat-rate simplified expenses
HMRC allows for a no-quibble, flat-rate deduction for sole traders and partners in business
partnerships who work from home for at least 25 hours/month.
These deductions amount to £26/month (2021/22 and 2022/23 tax years) when working
from home for at least 101 hours each month. This amounts to an annual deduction of £312
that you can include as Self Assessment expenses on your tax return