Can I claim it?
Search UK tax allowances and see in one glance whether an expense is claimable as a sole trader, limited company director or employee — organised from HMRC guidance.
Home office costs
You can claim a proportion of the running costs of working from home, but the method and amount depend on how you trade and how much you genuinely use the home for work.
Business mileage
Using your own vehicle for business journeys can be claimed using HMRC's approved mileage rates, which cover fuel plus wear and tear.
Computer equipment
Laptops, desktops, monitors and similar equipment bought for the business are generally claimable, typically as capital allowances rather than as a simple running cost.
Professional subscriptions
Membership of a professional body or trade subscription can be claimable where it is relevant to the work you do.
Business insurance
Insurance taken out for the purposes of the business — such as professional indemnity or public liability — is generally an allowable cost.
Accountancy fees
Fees for preparing business accounts and dealing with the tax affairs of the business are normally allowable.
Training courses
Training to keep your existing professional skills up to date is generally allowable, but training to acquire an entirely new trade or qualification is often not.
Mobile phone
Mobile phone costs can be claimed for business use, but the treatment is very different depending on whose name the contract is in.
Business travel
Travel costs for genuine business journeys — train fares, flights, taxis and accommodation — are generally allowable, but ordinary commuting is not.
Train & rail fares
Rail fares for genuine business journeys are allowable, but ordinary commuting — including season tickets that cover your regular route to work — is never deductible.
Taxis & ride-hailing
Taxi and ride-hailing fares (Uber, Bolt and similar) for genuine business journeys are allowable, but the same commuting exclusion applies as for any other travel cost.
Hotels & overnight accommodation
Hotel and other overnight accommodation costs are allowable when a qualifying business journey genuinely requires an overnight stay — but the cost must be reasonable and any private nights must be excluded.
Flights
Flight costs for genuine business journeys are allowable, but commuting by air is excluded on the same basis as any other commuting, and mixed business-and-leisure trips require careful apportionment.
Congestion charge & ULEZ
The London congestion charge, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge, and similar local authority clean air zone charges are allowable for qualifying business journeys — but not for commuting, and the treatment differs depending on whose vehicle is charged and who pays.
Office supplies & stationery
Everyday consumables used in the business — stationery, postage, printer ink and similar — are normally allowable.
Office furniture
Desks, chairs and storage bought for business use are generally claimable, usually as capital allowances.
Software subscriptions
Subscriptions to software used in the business — accounting tools, design apps, cloud storage — are generally allowable running costs.
Work clothing
Ordinary everyday clothing is not allowable even if you only wear it for work, but genuine protective clothing, uniforms and costumes can be.
Client entertainment
Entertaining clients or customers is generally not allowable for tax, even though it may be a normal part of doing business.
Home broadband
Sole traders can claim the business proportion of home broadband. Employees cannot claim broadband, and from 2026–27 the working-from-home tax relief has been withdrawn entirely.
Marketing & advertising
The cost of promoting your business — online ads, a website, printed materials, listings — is generally an allowable running cost.
Pension contributions
How pension contributions are relieved depends heavily on whether you are a sole trader, a company director, or an employee.
Vehicle insurance
Vehicle insurance can be claimed where you are claiming actual running costs of a business vehicle, but not if you are using the mileage method.
Parking
Parking incurred on a genuine business journey is allowable, but parking and traffic fines are never allowable.
Subsistence (food & drink)
Reasonable food and drink costs can be claimed when you are travelling for business away from your normal base, but everyday meals are not allowable.
Rent — business premises
Rent paid on a dedicated commercial or business premises is an allowable running cost. This entry covers external premises — a workshop, studio, retail unit or commercial office. Home-office apportionment is a separate entry.
Business rates
Business rates on commercial premises are an allowable running cost. Smaller properties often qualify for small business rate relief from the local authority, which reduces or eliminates the bill — but the rates actually paid are deductible in full.
Premises utilities
Heating, lighting, electricity, gas and water charges for a dedicated business premises are allowable running costs. This entry covers a separate commercial space — for home-office utility apportionment see the home-office entry.
Coworking & hot-desk membership
A coworking or hot-desk membership used for business work is treated as rent for business premises and is allowable. Employees cannot deduct a personally paid membership as a tax relief.
Premises repairs & maintenance
Repairing or maintaining a business premises is allowable, but improvement or enhancement work is capital expenditure and cannot be deducted as a plain running cost. The key test is whether the work restores the premises to its previous condition or makes it better than it was before.
Bank charges & account fees
Bank charges, account fees and overdraft interest on a business bank account are allowable running costs. The charges must relate to the business account — purely personal banking costs are not deductible.
Interest on business loans
Interest on a loan taken out for business purposes is normally allowable. The loan must fund a business asset or activity, not a personal purchase. Loan repayments themselves are not deductible — only the interest element is. Under the cash basis (the default for sole traders from 2024/25), the old £500 annual cap on interest no longer applies.
Credit card fees & interest
Credit card fees and interest on a card used for business spending are allowable. If the same card is used personally as well, only the proportion of fees and interest attributable to business transactions is deductible.
Bad debts
A specific debt that has been included in turnover and that you can show is genuinely irrecoverable may be written off as a bad debt. This relief is only available under traditional (accruals) accounting — it cannot be claimed on the cash basis, where income is only recognised when received.
Legal fees
Legal fees for business purposes are allowable when they are revenue costs of running the trade. Legal costs connected with acquiring, disposing of, or modifying a capital asset — including property — are capital expenditure and are not immediately deductible as a running cost.
Tools & equipment
Tools and trade equipment bought for use in the business are allowable, typically through capital allowances under traditional accounting or as a direct allowable expense under the cash basis. Employees in certain trades can claim relief via HMRC's agreed flat-rate expense allowances or actual costs.
Camera & photography equipment
Cameras, lenses, lighting, and photography equipment bought for business use are plant and machinery, claimable through capital allowances or as a direct allowable expense under the cash basis. Where the equipment is also used personally, only the business proportion is allowable.
Printer, ink & consumables
Printer ink, toner cartridges, paper, and similar consumables used for business purposes are allowable revenue running costs — not capital items. The printer hardware itself is a separate capital item claimed through capital allowances (or as an allowable expense under cash basis); this entry covers the consumables only.
Computer peripherals
Monitors, keyboards, mice, webcams, headsets, and similar peripherals used for business purposes are plant and machinery, claimable through capital allowances or as a direct allowable expense under the cash basis. The treatment mirrors computer equipment — dual-use items must be apportioned.
Cloud storage & online backup
Subscription fees for cloud storage and online backup services used for business are allowable revenue running costs, treated in the same way as software subscriptions — not as capital items.
Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity (PI) insurance premiums are an allowable business cost. PI cover protects the business against claims arising from professional negligence, errors, or omissions in the services provided to clients.
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance premiums are an allowable business cost. Public liability cover protects the business against claims from members of the public, customers, or visitors who suffer personal injury or property damage as a result of the business's activities.
Employers' liability insurance
Employers' liability (EL) insurance is a legal requirement for businesses with employees, and the premium is an allowable business cost. The law requires a minimum of £5 million cover from an authorised insurer. Sole traders and limited companies with no employees, or those employing only close family members, are exempt from the requirement.
Cyber insurance
Cyber insurance premiums are an allowable business cost. Cyber cover protects the business against the financial consequences of data breaches, ransomware, cyber attacks, and related digital threats. GOV.UK's self-employed expenses guidance states that 'you can claim for any insurance policy for your business.'
Income protection & personal insurance
A personal income protection policy taken out by a sole trader is not an allowable business expense — the premium protects personal income rather than the trade and fails the wholly-and-exclusively test. A company-funded income protection arrangement for employees or directors can be deductible for the company, subject to the structure chosen. If the premium is not allowable, any benefit paid out is generally tax-free.
Staff salaries & wages
Wages, salaries, and bonuses paid to employees are allowable business costs. The payment must have been actually made, run through PAYE, and be commercially justifiable — salaries paid to family members or connected persons must reflect the market value of the work genuinely done.
Employer's National Insurance
Employer (secondary) National Insurance contributions on employees' wages are an allowable business cost. From 6 April 2025, the employer NIC rate is 15% on earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 per year. The Employment Allowance of £10,500 per year reduces the bill for eligible employers.
Subcontractor & freelancer costs
Payments to genuine subcontractors and freelancers for business work are an allowable cost. The key conditions are that the worker must be genuinely self-employed (not a disguised employee), and in construction, the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deduction rules must be followed.
Recruitment & agency fees
The costs of recruiting staff — job advertising, job board listings, and recruitment agency placement fees — are allowable revenue costs. They are ordinary running costs of building a workforce, not capital expenditure.
Staff training
The cost of work-related training provided to employees is an allowable expense for the employer, and it is exempt from being a taxable benefit in kind for the employee under s250 ITEPA 2003. This entry covers training provided to employees of the business — for the business owner's own training and continuing professional development, see the training-courses entry.