I hope you can help me; I just want to know that if you are self employed.

etphonehome

I hope you can help me; I just want to know that if you are self employed what expense’s can and can’t you claim for.

Firstly, if you pay your self the civil service mileage rate for work mileage travelled, can you still claim for the following, Car tax costs, Insurance costs, repairs and servicing and petrol costs, and if so is there and apportionment rate between work and personal, someone told me it was 4/5 to work and 1/5, but I just wanted to make sure.

Secondly, are there any apportionment rates or rules of thumb for Mobile phone bills, ESB and Broadband Bills if you also work from home from time to time.

Finally what sort of expense are not allowable, is there a distinction between refurbishing an office and general repairs and upgrades,

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Nuttzz

sole traders cant claim the civil service rates, company directors and employees can but then they cant claim for car tax costs repairs etc as thats what the mileage covers

eamonnm79

Can I claim My vat back on a Car that is being purchased for commercial use. I have set up a ltd Company and am purchasing a car in order to transport stock. I will also advertise the company name on the car. It will genuinely be used for commercial use but I was told that it is only for vans that companies are allowed to claim back VAT? I dont want a van.

blue4ever

you can only claim your vat back on 'commercial vehicles' – not vehicles used for commercial use- the 'commercial’ vehicle is defined by the revenue – so you should consultant them first before you purchase

Oilrig

Nuttzz,

Sole traders can claim civil service rates for business mileage incurred in private vehicles.

However, if you claim CS rates you can not claim any other motoring expenses ie tax, insurance, fuel etc.

Eoin

eamonnm79 wrote:

Can I claim My vat back on a Car that is being purchased for commercial use. I have set up a ltd Company and am purchasing a car in order to transport stock. I will also advertise the company name on the car. It will genuinely be used for commercial use but I was told that it is only for vans that companies are allowed to claim back VAT? I dont want a van.

I posted about this on the motors forum recently, and there is another thead about an MPV that has been taxed as a commercial. The crewcab loophole appears to have been closed - at the least, it may not be easy to get it taxed as a commercial.

Generally it seems that you need the rear seats removed, rear seat belt anchors removed and rear windows blacked out - but there seem to be some exceptions - for instance combi vans that have two rows of seats. I think it's got to to with the percentage of the vehicle that the load area takes up.

It seems that by moving the rear seats forward on certain SUVs and maybe MPVs will increase the percentage of the car that the load area takes up, and therefore makes it easier to tax as a commercial.

You really should look into the specifics before committing to anything.