Terry Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Just going through well overdue spreadsheets, getting my accounts up to date. I was wondering if any of you travelling abroad, and taking stock images while there, ever claim travelling expenses (flight, hotel,meals) against Alamy income. I have never done this (just general costs for my business) because I would make a very big loss against my Alamy income if I did, and it would look at bit dodgy to the tax man. Terry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Abroad is no different to home, I travel more than 10 miles and I claim for meals, accomodation - the lot. If you cannot justify the true expenses in your 'business' then it's time to realise...... it's a hobby. That's how HMRC will look at it. If you don't put the true expenses, you are taking the same view as HMRC would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 I don't do photography as an hobby (only Alamy photography ) I work full time as a freelance photographer, working for a number of different clients. Terry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Then your stock photography is not a hobby and you claim just as you do for business. It's no business of the taxman's which parts of your work are more profitable than others- turnover is turnover and it goes under one heading. They're not separate trades. The test as to what is allowable is whether the expense is 'wholly and necessarily' for business- if you're self-employed it doesn't have to be 'exclusively' as it would for an employee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I don't do photography as an hobby (only Alamy photography ) I work full time as a freelance photographer, working for a number of different clients. Terry. If you are generating the costs of shooting overseas travel from your photography business then it's entirely reasonable to claim back those expenses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Yes, all expenses related to producing photography gets deducted. I am a full time photographer though, so that helps. I have been audited in the USA and my travel expenses were allowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 This is reassuring. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim47705.htm And this for the anoraks http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM37670.htm Overnight subsistence presumably covers dinner and brekkers. Looks like lunch is out. Of course, of you don't bother with breakfast, that posh lunch up the Olympiaturm in Munich looks like breakfast to me...... I got the test wrong- the test is 'wholly and exclusively'. It's 'necessarily' that the self-employed don't have to satisfy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Elliott Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I wish I could offset my travelling expenses. In France, I am on the auto-entrepreneur scheme and I cannot declare my travelling expenses only my earnings. From what I have been told, the "normal" tax scheme for self-employed people is a nightmare to negotiate over here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Baker Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 .. the taxman may consider it a hobby and not a profession.If prices continue to tumble, it won't just be the taxman considering this to be a hobby! Richard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 This is reassuring. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/bim47705.htm And this for the anoraks http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/bimmanual/BIM37670.htm Overnight subsistence presumably covers dinner and brekkers. Looks like lunch is out. Of course, of you don't bother with breakfast, that posh lunch up the Olympiaturm in Munich looks like breakfast to me...... Edit- sorry, HMRC references aren't going to do you much good. The principle ought to be the same though. I don't know how hard a ball the IRS plays. I got the test wrong- the test is 'wholly and exclusively'. It's 'necessarily' that the self-employed don't have to satisfy. Meals whilst travelling are allowed by HMRC so lunches are in. My accountant's advice was to claim when you either cannot return to home or are more than ten miles from base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dov makabaw Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 You may also claim mileage allowance and a proportion of your home overheads if working from home. Don't forget WDA on cameras lenses etc. Also computers, broadband, phones etc in proportion to their business use. No point paying tax unless you need to. It's hard enough scraping a living out of this game without throwing it away on tax which is legitimately not due. dov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 The capital allowance is now replaced by a straight deduction up to £50k a year. Unfortunately the home overheads deduction is now a statutory amount and it's pretty low, about £300/year, unless you provide actual figures.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 From what I make from Alamy in a year would barely pay for a weekend trip to the coast, what I make from my other photography work pays for the overseas travel. I will look at claiming for that overseas travel now. Thanks everyone. Terry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 The capital allowance is now replaced by a straight deduction up to £50k a year. Unfortunately the home overheads deduction is now a statutory amount and it's pretty low, about £300/year, unless you provide actual figures.. This is a new piece of information to me. I see from the IR website that simplified working from home expenses calculation is a new option for the 2013-14 tax year. It is indeed a very low amount (£26 per month for 100 working hours per month - less if you work fewer hours) and this is supposed to cover the business proportion of internet/phone/heat/light. However, the IR site does make it clear that it is an optional, simplified, way of calculating your business expenses and there is no need to use it if you keep expense records. I will prefer to do the latter. It makes me wonder though how the IR calculates figures that suggest you can run a home office for £26 per month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven Gillis Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Looks like an optional simpler tax scheme for very small UK businesses for 2013-14. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget-updates/march2013/simpler-income-tax-tech-note.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losdemas Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 The capital allowance is now replaced by a straight deduction up to £50k a year. Unfortunately the home overheads deduction is now a statutory amount and it's pretty low, about £300/year, unless you provide actual figures.. This is a new piece of information to me. I see from the IR website that simplified working from home expenses calculation is a new option for the 2013-14 tax year. It is indeed a very low amount (£26 per month for 100 working hours per month - less if you work fewer hours) and this is supposed to cover the business proportion of internet/phone/heat/light. However, the IR site does make it clear that it is an optional, simplified, way of calculating your business expenses and there is no need to use it if you keep expense records. I will prefer to do the latter. It makes me wonder though how the IR calculates figures that suggest you can run a home office for £26 per month. £26 per month?! That'll just about cover the printer ink...if you're lucky ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 I always claim travel expenses (within reason) and have never had any trouble here in Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 The capital allowance is now replaced by a straight deduction up to £50k a year. Unfortunately the home overheads deduction is now a statutory amount and it's pretty low, about £300/year, unless you provide actual figures.. This is a new piece of information to me. I see from the IR website that simplified working from home expenses calculation is a new option for the 2013-14 tax year. It is indeed a very low amount (£26 per month for 100 working hours per month - less if you work fewer hours) and this is supposed to cover the business proportion of internet/phone/heat/light. However, the IR site does make it clear that it is an optional, simplified, way of calculating your business expenses and there is no need to use it if you keep expense records. I will prefer to do the latter. It makes me wonder though how the IR calculates figures that suggest you can run a home office for £26 per month. £26 per month?! That'll just about cover the printer ink...if you're lucky ! No. It's meant to cover the indirect expenses- heat and light, that sort of thing- not the usual stuff that you would have receipts for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losdemas Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 ^^Sorry: skim-reading. In that case, it seems to make a little more sense. It has always been difficult working out just how much these things cost if your job isn't carried out 100% from home. (%age of utilities used for %age of house used for %age of time/days etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Yes, problem is it's such a tiny amount. Only £60 tax saved. Over the years I used a figure which I told the Revenue about and regularly increased it with inflation, always without any demur from the taxman. It is currently £1000 and I shall miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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