The tax reliefs and allowances available to your business

HMRC is encouraging business owners, employers and the self-employed to check online to make sure they are not missing out on a range of tax reliefs and allowances.

One page summary of all tax reliefs and allowances

HMRC’s new page on GOV.UK summarises items that people running their own businesses should explore that could help them keep more of what they earn. With just one click, businesses, employers and the self-employed can find out their eligibility for tax reliefs and financial allowances, as well as how to claim them.

These include:

Tax-deductible business expenses

• If you’re self-employed, you can deduct some of your running costs as part of your annual tax return, as long as they’re an allowable expense.
• You may be able to claim tax-deductible expenses for items including office stationery, insurance, bank charges and even heating and lighting for your office, home office or business premises.

Research and Development (R&D) tax credits

• If your company is involved in innovative projects in science or technology, you may be eligible to claim R&D reliefs which can even be claimed on eligible unsuccessful projects.

Gift Aid

• Companies (and unincorporated associations) can claim tax relief for qualifying donations paid to charities (bodies or trusts accepted as charities for UK tax purposes).

Corporation Tax relief

• You can deduct the costs of running your business from your profits before tax when you prepare your company’s accounts. This could include things like buying machinery or tools that you use for your business.

Employment allowance

• If your business employs people, you may be able to claim Employment Allowance which allows eligible employers to reduce their annual National Insurance liability by up to £5,000.

Pre-trading expenses

• If you are in the process of setting up a new business, you may be able to claim back some of the expenses incurred before you started trading through your first tax return.

Reclaiming VAT

• If you are a VAT-registered business, you can reclaim VAT on qualifying goods and services you buy for use in your business.

Business rates relief

• Some properties are eligible for discounts from their local council on their business rates. This is called ‘business rates relief’. Please note that the guidance on business rates relief on GOV.UK is only for businesses based in England.

See: Tax reliefs and allowances for businesses, employers and the self-employed – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)