What Expenses Can I Claim as Self Employed in the UK?

Here’s a depressing statistic: the average UK sole trader overpays tax by hundreds of pounds a year simply by not claiming expenses they’re entitled to. Not through fraud — through ignorance. Knowing what expenses you can claim as self-employed in the UK is pure profit: every £1,000 of legitimate expenses saves you £200–£400 in tax. Here’s the full list, the rules, and the traps.

Self Employed Expenses Claim UK: The Golden Rule

You can claim anything that’s “wholly and exclusively” for your business. Those three words are the entire test. If an expense is genuinely for the business, it’s claimable. If it’s partly personal, you claim the business proportion. If it’s purely personal, you don’t. Simple in theory — the detail is where people get confused.

The Full List: What’s Claimable

Home office

• Simplified flat rate: £10–£26/month depending on hours worked from home (25–50 hrs: £10; 51–100: £18; 101+: £26). No calculations, no evidence needed beyond hours
• Actual costs method: Proportion of rent/mortgage interest, utilities, insurance based on rooms used and time. More paperwork, usually bigger claim if you work from home full-time
• Office furniture, equipment, repairs to the workspace

Travel

• Mileage: 45p/mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p after (cars/vans). Keep a log — date, destination, purpose, miles. Apps make this painless
• Public transport, parking, tolls for business journeys
• Overnight stays: Hotels and subsistence when travelling for business (not commuting — commuting is never claimable)
• Note: travel from home to a regular workplace is commuting (not claimable). Travel to temporary workplaces and clients is claimable

Equipment and supplies

• Computers, phones, tablets (business proportion if also personal — be honest about the split)
• Tools, machinery, specialised equipment
• Stationery, printer ink, packaging materials
• Software subscriptions, apps, cloud storage

Professional costs

• Accountant and bookkeeping fees
• Legal and professional advice
• Insurance premiums (public liability, professional indemnity, etc.)
• Professional memberships and subscriptions
• Training courses that maintain or update existing skills

Marketing and communications

• Website costs, hosting, domain renewals
• Advertising (online ads, flyers, signage)
• Business phone and broadband (business proportion)
• Business cards, branding, photography

Staff and subcontractors

• Wages, subcontractor payments, agency fees
• Employer NICs and pension contributions
• Staff training and welfare

Financial costs

• Business bank charges and interest on business loans
• Credit card fees on business transactions
• Bad debts (amounts you’ve invoiced but will never receive — claimable once you’re certain)

What You CAN’T Claim (Common Mistakes)

• Commuting: Home to your regular workplace — never claimable, no matter how far
• Everyday clothes: Unless it’s protective clothing or uniform specific to the work (a suit isn’t claimable, hi-vis is)
• Personal food: Your lunch isn’t claimable (unless overnight on business travel)
• Fines and penalties: Parking tickets, HMRC penalties — never claimable (and rightly so)
• Entertaining clients: HMRC specifically disallows client entertainment. Staff entertaining has different (limited) treatment
• Your own training for a NEW skill: Training to maintain existing skills is claimable; training for a completely new trade isn’t (it’s capital, not revenue)

Record-Keeping: The Non-Negotiable Part

Claiming is only half the battle — proving it is the other half. HMRC can investigate up to 6 years back, and “I lost the receipt” isn’t a defence:

• Keep every receipt and invoice (digital photos are fine — paper fades)
• Log mileage contemporaneously (reconstructing a year’s travel from memory doesn’t survive scrutiny)
• Keep business and personal spending separate — a dedicated account makes this automatic
• Our guide on keeping business receipts organised covers the systems that make this painless
• Good accounting software categorises expenses automatically and flags anything unusual

For the authoritative list with HMRC’s own examples, see GOV.UK’s self-employed expenses guide — it’s the definitive reference if you’re ever unsure.

How This Affects Your Tax Bill

Expenses reduce your profit, and you’re taxed on profit, not revenue. £40,000 revenue with £8,000 of expenses = £32,000 taxable profit. At basic rate, those £8,000 of expenses save you ~£2,300 in tax and NICs. That’s why our sole trader tax guide stresses expenses as the biggest lever on your bill — bigger than any clever scheme, and completely legitimate.

Expenses FAQs

Can I claim for my home office if I also use the room personally?

Yes — you claim the business proportion. If the room is used 50% for business, claim 50% of the eligible costs (or use the simplified flat rate, which sidesteps the calculation entirely). The room doesn’t need to be exclusively business use, just regularly used for it.

What about my mobile phone bill?

Claim the business proportion. If roughly 60% of usage is business, claim 60%. Itemised bills help justify the split if HMRC asks. A second SIM or phone used purely for business makes the whole bill claimable — often simpler than apportioning.

Can I claim clothing?

Only if it’s protective clothing, uniform, or costumes specific to the work — things you wouldn’t wear in everyday life. Ordinary clothes, even if bought “for work,” aren’t claimable. The test HMRC applies: would you wear it outside work? If yes, no claim.

How far back can I claim pre-trading expenses?

Expenses incurred up to 7 years before you started trading are claimable, provided they were for the business and would have been allowable if you’d been trading. That laptop bought six months before your first client? Claimable. Keep the receipts.

What records do I actually need to keep?

Every receipt and invoice for claimed expenses, bank statements, mileage logs, and records of how you calculated any apportionment (business vs personal splits). Digital copies are fine. Keep everything for at least 5 years after the relevant 31 January filing deadline. HMRC can investigate within this window, and “I lost it” isn’t a defence.

The Commuting Rule (and Its Exception)

The rule that trips up more sole traders than any other: ordinary commuting — home to your regular workplace — is never claimable, even if you work from home most days and travel to a client’s office. HMRC’s position is absolute on this. The exception: travel to a temporary workplace (a client site for a fixed project, a training course, a supplier visit) is claimable — mileage at 45p/mile, train fares, parking, the lot. The distinction hinges on regularity and permanence: the co-working space you visit twice a week indefinitely is ordinary commuting; the client site for a six-week project is temporary. Get this wrong and it’s the first thing an HMRC enquiry challenges — get it right and it’s one of your most valuable claims.

The Bottom Line

Claim everything “wholly and exclusively” for the business: home office, travel, equipment, professional fees, marketing, insurance. Don’t claim commuting, everyday clothes, personal food, or fines. Keep every receipt, log every mile, and separate business money from personal. The average sole trader leaves hundreds on the table through unclaimed expenses — make sure you’re not one of them. When in doubt, claim it and keep the evidence; HMRC would rather see an honest claim with receipts than a missing claim from fear.