If you run a business from home, you can generally get some tax relief for some of your household costs (mortgage interest, council tax, utilities and what have you). The Revenue have changed their guidance on this subject recently, and their new interpretation is actually more generous to the tax payer than was previously the case. Advising home-based businesses on this is bread and butter stuff for accountants working with SMEs.
Or at least, it should be. I was on a tax course last year, attended by 25 or so practising accountants, most of whom will have been sole practitioners or partners in small firms. The lecturer asked for a show of hands from those who worked from home. Half a dozen hands went up. Then he asked for a show of hands from those who claimed tax relief for some of their household costs, his intention being to demonstrate how basic a piece of advice it was. Only one hand remained up! Five of the six were paying more tax than they had to, by disregarding some basic tax planning. The lecturer was as staggered as I was. To his credit, he was far more polite to them than I would have been! How can firms hold themselves out as advising others on tax planning when they can't do it for themselves?
If you'd like to know more about how you can get tax relief for the costs of working from home, give us a call!
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