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
The dividing line for training costs is the trade you already carry on. Keeping existing skills up to date is generally allowable — and since HMRC's 2024 guidance change, so is learning new skills within your existing business area if you're self-employed — but a course that sets you up in an entirely new trade or qualification often is 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
Train fares, flights, taxis and hotel bills all sit under one umbrella, and the same test decides them all: travel for the work itself — to clients, suppliers or temporary work sites — is allowable, while ordinary commuting between home and a regular workplace never is. Trips that mix business with a holiday need the private element stripped out before anything is claimed.
Train & rail fares
Season tickets are the trap with rail travel: a ticket that covers your regular route to work is commuting, and commuting is never deductible — for anyone. Fares for business journeys proper — trips to clients, suppliers or a temporary workplace — are allowable, whether you are self-employed, running a company or (subject to the 24-month rule) an employee.
Taxis & ride-hailing
HMRC draws no distinction between a black cab and an Uber or Bolt — both are simply taxi fares, allowable when the journey is for business and disallowed when it is really a commute. What catches people out is the app: a tidy digital receipt proves the trip happened, not that it was for work, so the business purpose of each journey still needs recording.
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
Flying somewhere doesn't change the rules: a regular flight to your permanent place of work is commuting, whatever the distance, and is no more claimable than a daily train. Flights taken for the business itself are allowable, though trips that combine work with a holiday call for careful apportionment between the business and private elements.
Congestion charge & ULEZ
Whether a congestion charge, ULEZ payment or clean air zone fee is claimable turns on the journey: driving into the zone for business, yes; driving through it to reach your regular workplace, no — that is commuting. Limited companies face an extra wrinkle: whose vehicle was charged, and who paid, decides whether the payment is a straightforward business cost or something taxable on the director.
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
Four different regimes decide a clothing claim, and the item itself — not the reason you bought it — picks the regime. Everyday clothing is never allowable; protective gear, genuine uniforms and performers' costumes each can be, under their own quite different rules.
Protective clothing & safety gear
Genuinely protective clothing — safety boots, hi-vis, hard hats, goggles, gloves, overalls — is allowable for the self-employed and exempt when a company provides it, but employees can only claim in narrower circumstances than most expect.
Uniforms & branded workwear
A genuine uniform gets favourable tax treatment for all three statuses — but HMRC's test is stricter than most people expect, and for employees even a genuine uniform's purchase cost is not claimable, only its upkeep.
Uniform laundry & maintenance
Cleaning, repairing and replacing a qualifying uniform or protective clothing is claimable — for employees usually via a no-receipts flat rate expense — but the relief never applies to washing everyday work clothes.
Everyday clothing & business dress
Suits, smart dress and other everyday clothing are not claimable by anyone — even if a dress code requires them and you would never wear them outside work. This is the most-asked, most-refused expense question in UK tax.
Costumes & performance clothing
Clothing acquired for a role in a film, stage or TV performance is 'costume', not everyday wardrobe, and is allowable for self-employed performers — but stage-adjacent ordinary clothing is not, and the company and employed-performer positions are less clear-cut.
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
A parking or traffic fine is never a business expense — penalties for breaking the law can't be deducted, even when the overstayed meter was outside a client's office. The parking charge itself is different: paying to park while on a business journey is allowable, though parking at your regular workplace as part of the daily commute is not.
Subsistence (food & drink)
Everyone has to eat, so HMRC's starting point is that food and drink are a personal cost, not a business one. The exception is travel: when work takes you away from your normal base — an occasional journey outside your usual pattern, or an overnight stay — the reasonable cost of meals on that trip can be claimed.
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.
Buying a car (capital allowances)
Buying a car for business use is a capital purchase, not a day-to-day expense. The cost is recovered through capital allowances over a number of years — but cars are specifically excluded from the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), and the rate of relief is dictated by the car's CO2 emissions. From April 2026 the main pool writing-down allowance dropped from 18% to 14%.
Vans & commercial vehicles
Vans, lorries and other commercial vehicles are treated as plant and machinery for capital allowances purposes — not as cars. This matters enormously: commercial vehicles qualify for the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA), so the full purchase cost (up to £1 million) can typically be deducted against profits in the year of purchase. Cars are specifically excluded from the AIA and written down much more slowly.
Car leasing & contract hire
Lease and contract hire rental payments for a car are an allowable business expense — but a statutory 15% flat-rate disallowance applies if the car's CO2 emissions exceed 50g/km (for cars from April 2021). Zero and low-emission cars below the threshold attract no disallowance and can be deducted in full, subject to any private-use restriction.
Fuel & motoring costs
The tax treatment of fuel and other running costs depends entirely on whether you are using the actual-costs method or the simplified mileage rate — you cannot use both for the same vehicle. For company cars, HMRC publishes advisory fuel rates (reviewed quarterly) that set the tax-free reimbursement rate for each fuel type and engine size; private fuel provided alongside a company car creates a separate taxable benefit.
Electric vehicle charging
Business EV charging costs are allowable, but the rules vary significantly depending on where charging takes place and who owns the vehicle. Workplace charging provided by an employer is exempt from benefit-in-kind tax under a specific statutory exemption. Home charging is not exempt. Company electric cars carry a low — but rising — benefit-in-kind rate. Advisory electric rates for mileage reimbursement split between home and public charging from June 2026.
Business cards & printed materials
Business cards, flyers, leaflets, brochures, catalogues and other printed promotional materials are allowable revenue expenses, deductible in the period they are incurred. They are straightforward advertising costs — there is no capital or revenue complexity to resolve, and no per-person limit applies (unlike branded gifts).
Website design & build
Website costs split into two very different categories for tax purposes. Ongoing running costs — hosting, domain renewal, maintenance and content updates — are revenue expenses, deductible in full. The original cost of building a website, and any major rebuild that creates a new and enduring asset, can be capital expenditure rather than revenue — meaning it cannot simply be deducted as an expense. Getting this split right is the key judgement call for website spend.
Trade shows & exhibitions
Exhibition stand hire, event space fees, booth construction and display materials are allowable business promotion costs — trade shows are not business entertainment. However, the costs of food, drink and hospitality provided to visitors at the stand are disallowed as business entertainment, even if the event itself is a legitimate marketing exercise. Travel and accommodation to the show follow the normal business travel rules.
Photography & video for marketing
Photographer and videographer fees, studio hire and post-production costs commissioned to promote the business are allowable revenue expenses. Marketing photography and video is consumed relatively quickly in the course of promotion and rarely creates a capital asset — though a very substantial production intended to endure for many years without update could be capital. In practice, most commercial shoots are revenue.
Branded merchandise & promotional gifts
A promotional gift to a customer or contact is allowable only if it meets three conditions simultaneously: it must carry a conspicuous advertisement for the business on the item itself; it must not be food, drink, tobacco or a voucher; and the total cost of gifts to the same person must not exceed £50 per tax year (for unincorporated businesses) or per accounting period (for companies). Fail any one condition and the expenditure becomes disallowed business entertainment.
Professional qualifications & exam fees
Exam fees and registration costs for qualifications that deepen expertise within your existing trade or profession are generally allowable. An initial qualification to enter a profession, or one that sets you up in an entirely new and unrelated line of work, is not.
Conferences & seminars
Attendance fees for conferences and seminars relevant to your existing trade are allowable. Travel and subsistence to attend follow the normal business travel rules; any entertainment element in the conference package is disallowed.
Books, journals & learning materials
A subscription to your trade's specialist journal is claimable; the newspaper you read over breakfast is not. The line between them is relevance to the business you already carry on — reference books, trade journals and learning materials tied to your existing work are allowable, general or personal-interest reading is not, and employees buying books at their own cost almost never qualify at all.
Online courses & e-learning
Online courses and e-learning relevant to your existing trade are allowable under the same principle as other training costs. The course must relate to the business you already carry on, not set you up in a new and unrelated trade.
Business coaching & mentoring
Fees for a business coach or mentor focused on your existing trade are generally allowable. Personal or life coaching without a direct business purpose is not. The same BIM35660 principle that governs training costs applies: the coaching must relate to the business you already carry on.
Business travel meals
Meals bought during a qualifying business journey can be allowable, but the rules differ sharply between self-employed and employees — and ordinary commuting or everyday office eating never qualifies regardless of how hard you are working.
Client & business entertainment
Entertaining clients, customers, and prospects — meals, drinks, event hospitality, corporate boxes — is specifically disallowed as a tax deduction, regardless of how genuinely commercial the purpose. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood rules in business expenses.
Staff refreshments & working lunches
Providing food and drink to employees during working meetings and events can be an allowable business cost, but the rules depend on whether it is a modest working meal, a social staff event, or — critically — a sole trader trying to claim their own lunch.
Overnight incidental expenses
When an employee or director stays away from home overnight on business, the employer can reimburse up to £5 per night for UK stays or £10 per night for overseas stays tax-free, to cover minor personal costs such as newspapers, laundry, and personal phone calls home. This relief does not apply to the self-employed and carries a strict all-or-nothing rule — exceed the limit by a penny and the entire payment becomes taxable.
Everyday food & drink while working
Food and drink consumed during a normal working day — at a desk, in a café near the office, or at home — is not a deductible business expense. Everyone needs to eat regardless of work, and that dual-purpose nature means the 'wholly and exclusively for business' test is not met.