Allowable expenses

[vicars]

Hello, as a mortgage broker I see people out and abou and like to keep relationships good with personal touches. Are the following therefore considered allowable expenses? A tip on top of a meal out with the client? A bunch of flowers to celebrate an event? A card bought to congratulate them on an event (eg new baby)? All your thoughts appreciated!

[Buenchico]

I would doubt that any of these items count as allowable expenses. You certainly can't claim the cost of the meal out with a client, so it seems highly unlikely that you can claim the tip!

If you donate loads of flowers to your local hospital with the aim of cheering the place up then, when you get your name in the local newspaper for doing so, you can claim it as 'advertising'. If, however, you simply give flowers (or a card) to a client, this is closer to 'corporate hospitality' which is not a permissible allowance.

Sorry!

Chris

Link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2968706.stm

[vicars]

Oh dear oh dear. Thats just unfair. Many thanks for the link.

[dotjhawkes]

Well I think it can all come under the umbrella of hosapitality and expenses, they only check 10% so risk it I say! (not that i know anything about self assessment mind)

[andy-hughes]

The golden rule with all expenses is to bung a claim in for every single thing you can think of, however tenuous a link to your business it may be, and let the Revenue turn you down. That way, you at least stand a chance - better to claim it and have it refused, than not claim it when they might have allowed it.

Don't worry, this is standard practice, the people who do your tax are used to anything and everything - Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull runs a salmon farm, and has tried to get his wife's Porsche deducted as a 'farm vehicle' - thus far without success!