Books, journals & learning materials

Conditions

• For the self-employed, the cost of books, trade journals, professional publications and reference materials is allowable where the content is directly relevant to the trade or profession you already carry on. This follows the BIM35660 revenue-expenditure principle: expenditure that updates or maintains knowledge within the existing business area is deductible.
• The wholly-and-exclusively test applies. A trade journal covering your specific industry is clearly allowable; a general newspaper or a book with no connection to your business is not. Where a publication is partly business and partly personal — for example, a general-interest magazine that occasionally covers your sector — only the business portion may be claimed and a reasonable apportionment should be made.
• For a limited company, books and reference materials purchased by the company for use in the business are an allowable company expense. Where a director or employee purchases materials and is reimbursed by the company, the reimbursement is allowable provided the expenditure was genuinely business-related.
• For employees, there is no general tax deduction available for books or professional publications bought at personal cost. The relevant case law — in particular Blackwell v Mills [1945] — confirmed that the cost of textbooks and study materials does not meet the 'in performance of the duties' test, even where the materials are directly used in the job. Unlike professional body subscriptions, HMRC publishes no approved list for employee book claims. An employer can however purchase books and make them available to employees as a legitimate business expense, which does not create a taxable benefit in kind provided the books are work-related tools rather than personal assets.

Common mistakes

• Claiming general-interest books, newspapers, or entertainment subscriptions that are not specific to the trade — these fail the wholly-and-exclusively test.
• Employees attempting to deduct personally purchased professional books against employment income — this very rarely qualifies under the strict 'in performance of duties' test established in Blackwell v Mills.
• Confusing books and journals with software subscriptions: a digital subscription providing access to a professional database or curated reference tool sits closer to this category (content access); a subscription that primarily provides a software application or productivity tool sits under software subscriptions.
• Forgetting to keep receipts — small individual purchases add up, and documented records support a claim on review.

What to keep

• Receipts or invoices for each purchase showing the title or publication name, date and cost.
• A brief note describing how the book or journal is relevant to the business — particularly useful for less obvious purchases.

Real-world example

A self-employed solicitor purchases three legal textbooks on a new area of contract law she is advising clients on, and takes out an annual subscription to a specialist legal journal covering her practice area. Both are allowable trading expenses — the textbooks are reference tools within her existing practice, and the journal keeps her current on her field. Her general newspaper subscription, which she reads primarily for personal interest, is not claimable.

Frequently asked

Related allowances