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Hi
I know we can claim for mobile phones calls etc. But what if you have a contract which has x amount of free calls , txt messages etc. My parents text me and I send pictures throughout the day but all within my allowance how can I claim as obviously if I didn't have my mobile I wouldn't be able to do this. Is there a % I can claim off my monthly contract fees?
Thank you x
I'll be interested to know too as I have never claimed due to it being all inclusive. Perhaps a percentage of the bill if you have a breakdown of how many calls / texts relate to "work"?
I personally have never claimed for this, as I have an all inclusive package and would have this regardless if childminding. However, I was recently I a course and did a business workshop. The trainer said we can claim the full amount as its a business tool and we couldn't work without a mobile phone. I like his thinking, but I still don't put it through as an expense lol
Hi I don't know if is tax allowed but I claim for 10% of my contact phone. I use it for both but I don't claim for the house phone line rental as I know some do.
There is a certain logic to that, but it won't cut any ice with HMRC. It would only work if you had a dedicated business phone, used exclusively for CMing. By the trainer's logic, we could all claim the entire cost of our houses which are, similarly, business tools that we could not work without. The moment you start claiming for the whole cost of anything that is used jointly between business and personal use, you can run into a heap of tax problems.Quote:
Originally Posted by JoRo163
The question of mobile phone contracts (as well as landline/broadband contracts) was raised at a CM group I used to attend when we had a visiting HMRC business support officer giving a talk. She said that strictly speaking we should only claim itemised calls, but this was increasingly difficult due to the sort of 'calls package' contracts most people have these days. HMRC therefore tend to work on what the CM can justify as a reasonable percentage for business use, and this will vary from one business to another. She also pointed out that if we were to itemise the nominal charge for itemised business calls, the figure could exceed the cost of the monthly contract, due to the good deals offered by many mobile phone companies: hence the whole thing being a bit of a grey area.
I usually claim 12.5% as business use. It's a very conservative estimate and I could possibly claim more, but I'm happy playing safe on what I could justify. Tbh it doesn't amount to whole hill of beans: if I claimed twice this figure I'd probably cut my tax bill by what?....£10-£15pa. For that sort of saving, I have no problem it going on granny's free eye test instead of into my pub landlord's till.
Thank you. As you say its not a huge amount anyway so best to play it safe and either not bother or do a minimal amount that you can justify :)
Twice a year I go through my mobile calls from my itemised account and see how many calls are personal and business. I divide the cost of my contract by the total number of calls and multiply by the number of business calls. Keep the workings. HMRC were happy with this when I was questioned
Claiming for mobile calls and texts is perfectly legitimate
As it the use of a landline which you may also use for personal reasons
It is comparable to the mileage we do in our car...some are business and some for family use.
I have never had problems claiming for both...calculate business use and personal and claim accordingly.
An accountant would be very helpful in this matter.
Broadband too is legitimate to claim for...we would not be able to print and download all the relevant DfE and Ofsted documents we need for our work....what about invoices and newsletters and much more we send to parents
Whatever the sum it is best in our pocket...it all adds up at the end of the year!