Expenses that you can write off with a limited company

Maskhadov

Can someone please help and identifiy what expenses a person can write off with a limited company. I know of some, namely :

• Light and Heat
  
• Telephone (100% mobile, 30% of landline)
  
• Internet Access
  
• Subscriptions
  
• Journals
  
• Training (Staff training.. 100%)
  
• Motor & Travel (only travelling between two work places, % of fuel cost)
  
• Accountancy Fees
  
• Office Expenses
  
• Printing, Postage & Stationary
  
• Computer Costs (100% of costs)
  
• Bank Intrest & Charges

Are there other items ? The stuff I have added in brackets is what I know of but Im not completely sure about. Can someone verify that ?

Plus how much of the stuff is seperated from personal and business.. like say you were posting lots of parcels to friends.. would that be excluded ?

What about buying a new printer, would that come under computer costs ?

Sonnenblumen

On the trading side there are 2 major Catagories: Major All Goods and Services purchased for Resale, and All Goods and Services purchased can both be offset.

Others include:
Pension, Insurance, Professional Subscriptions, Travel (use your own car and charge mileage and assocaited expenses to co).

- Advertising/Promotion.
- Depreciation
- Bank charges/interest (charged)
The list will eventually be dictated by the nature of your business etc

Maskhadov

what about goods such as printers scanners and other computer peripherals. Could they be written off against tax or are the guidelines strictly computers ?

DublinWriter

Maskhadov wrote:

what about goods such as printers scanners and other computer peripherals. Could they be written off against tax or are the guidelines strictly computers ?

Yes, as long as you can prove they are for the use of the business.

You could also claim on depreciation (five year straight line) on such computer equipment.

Other handy items are milage and subsistance - check them out on the Revenue website.

Nuttzz

DublinWriter wrote:

Yes, as long as you can prove they are for the use of the business.

You could also claim on depreciation (five year straight line) on such computer equipment.

Other handy items are milage and subsistance - check them out on the Revenue website.

better off writing off cheaper computer equipment in year 1

Maskhadov

what do you mean Nuttzz ? Selling it off and buying a new computer ?

RandomOne

Maskhadov wrote:

Plus how much of the stuff is seperated from personal and business.. like say you were posting lots of parcels to friends.. would that be excluded ?

Yes, as it's not a business expense and the costs are clearly divisable. With other costs which are not so clearly separate, (phone/vehicle rental) you take the amount of business use vs the amount of personal use and use the same percentage as the business use for deducting the rental. You don't have to divide up your bill every month, keep a record for a few months then take an average percentage for the whole period. If it starts to go out of proportion significantly, then redo the keeping record bit and start using the new percentage.

If you need to buy particular clothing for safety etc and tools, these are all deductible either fully or by depreciation also.

Any professional fees, not just accountants are deductable so if you paid legal fees to have the Ltd. Co. set up for instance.

Office/building maintenance work.

Basically if you have to spend money on the business, and/or in carrying out the work of the business, it's deductable.

Get a good accountant. One that looks at your business rather than just crunching thre numbers. They'll save you more than they charge over the years advising you what you need to be doing/claiming to keep your tax bills down and how to pay yourself wages/distributions the most tax efficiently (legally!)

Maskhadov

So you can just send in your entire mobile phone bill for every call that you made and hope that it will be all taken from your tax. Thats a disapointment.

If I were doing IT contracting and working from home say, could I not put down printers as a business expense.

Thanks for clearing things up.

Nuttzz

Maskhadov wrote:

what do you mean Nuttzz ? Selling it off and buying a new computer ?

if you buy a new scanner/model/ external HDD dont write it off over 5 years write it off over 1

Maskhadov

explain please?? and can you that with printers also?

RandomOne

Maskhadov, people are only going to be able to give you specifics where specific items have their own rules unless they know the specifics of your business. Generally, it is covered in my previous post saying "If it is used for the business, you can claim the business proportion" but with items such as a printer, the costs aren't divisable for business and personal use as you clearly can't buy half a printer for each, so yes, the printer is tax deductable if your business requires you to print documents.

There are however implications with writing off the entire value of high value goods rather than writing them off over a period of 5 years which may be (note MAY be) detrimental to your business even if beneficial to your short-term tax liability.

If you have a Ltd. Co. then you will have to engage an accountant at some point. They will be able to advise you on all the things you can claim and the implications of doing so within the context of your own specific business. Depending on those specifics, it may not be a good idea to be trying to write off so much as you seem to want.

Nuttzz

Maskhadov wrote:

explain please?? and can you that with printers also?

my rule of thumb (mine mind you) is that anything costing under €1000 is written off in year 1

kluivert

When trying to answer the question of which period to write off an asset (depreciation), you should ask, what is the life span fo the equipment that will prove the user with an economic benefit.

If you buy a printer and the printer costs 250e, there is a more than lighty chance that you will have the printer after year 1, therefore writing off or depreciating the printer 100% in the first year is not true and fair reflection of economic life of the asset.

In practice the following depreciation rates apply:

Computer Equipment 33.33% Straight Line

FF & Equipment 20% Straight Line

Plant % Machinery 20% Straight Line

Motor Vehciles 25% Straight Line.

OP Question:

All expenses in occurred for the purposes of the business is allowable, there is no defined group as each business as its own administrative expenses.

Write off is a taxation, do you mean write off against your case I/II profits. Again all expenses for the purpose of the business is allowable, depreciation is not allowed, instead you get a capital allowance, Increase in general bad debt provision is not allowed, although increase in specfic bad debt provision is allowed, add back proportion of expenses used for personal use, Lease repayments are not allowed but lease interest is, any sort of entertainment is not allowed with the exception of staff entertainment. there is a long list that should be available on the revenue.ie site.

lawred2

As a sole director of a limited company - can you fully expense training costs for courses that are 100% relevant to your profession/business?

mrawkward

10 year old thread!!

duploelabs

lawred2 wrote: »

As a sole director of a limited company - can you fully expense training costs for courses that are 100% relevant to your profession/business?

Ask your accountant, they know (or at least should) your business better than any of us

lawred2

mrawkward wrote: »

10 year old thread!!

0o00o0ps

Don't blame me if google has a penchant for necromancing