What Expenses Can I Claim as Self-Employed? (2026 Guide)
Most self-employed people either claim too little, because they’re not sure what actually counts, or claim things they probably shouldn’t, because a mate told them “you can put that through the business.” Neither is great. Getting your allowable expenses right can genuinely knock hundreds of pounds off your tax bill u2014 and it’s not complicated once you know the rule HMRC actually applies.
At Filing Accounts, we help sole traders and freelancers get their expenses right every year. Full official detail sits at GOV.UK: Expenses if you’re self-employed.
The Rule Behind Everything: “Wholly and Exclusively”
HMRC’s test is that a cost has to be incurred wholly and exclusively for your business. If something’s genuinely mixed u2014 your phone, for instance, which you use for both work calls and texting your mum u2014 you don’t lose the claim entirely, you just split it. Work out a reasonable business percentage and only claim that portion, consistently, year to year. HMRC doesn’t expect perfection here, but it does expect a sensible, defensible split rather than a guess pulled out of thin air.
What You Can Actually Claim
Working From Home
You’ve got two options here, and it’s worth doing the sums on both rather than assuming one is always better.
Simplified flat rate u2014 based purely on the hours you work from home each month:
| Hours Worked From Home (per month) | Flat Rate |
|---|---|
| 25 to 50 | u00a310 |
| 51 to 100 | u00a318 |
| 101 or more | u00a326 |
Actual costs u2014 work out the business proportion of your real household bills (rent, utilities, council tax, broadband), typically apportioned by number of rooms and hours used for work. This is more admin but can be worth more if you’ve got a dedicated office and decent-sized bills.
Travel and Vehicle Costs
The simplest route for most sole traders is HMRC’s approved mileage rates:
| Vehicle | Rate |
|---|---|
| Car or van — first 10,000 business miles | 45p per mile |
| Car or van — after 10,000 miles | 25p per mile |
| Motorcycle | 24p per mile |
| Bicycle | 20p per mile |
Just keep a mileage log u2014 date, destination, purpose, miles. That’s genuinely all you need, no fuel receipts required. One catch worth knowing: once you pick mileage rates for a particular vehicle, you’re stuck with that method for as long as you use it for business. You can’t switch to claiming actual running costs partway through and back again.
Regular commuting from home to a fixed place of work doesn’t count u2014 that’s true whether you’re self-employed or employed. What does count is travel between jobs, to client sites, or to pick up materials.
Equipment, Stock and Materials
Day-to-day stock and materials used up in your work are straightforward revenue expenses. Bigger, longer-lasting purchases u2014 a laptop, a van, specialist machinery u2014 usually fall under capital allowances instead, a slightly different mechanism for getting tax relief on the cost. Most small businesses can claim the full cost of qualifying equipment in the year of purchase through the Annual Investment Allowance, so in practice the end result is often similar, but it’s worth knowing these are technically two different things.
Professional and Financial Costs
- Accountancy and bookkeeping fees
- Business insurance (public liability, professional indemnity)
- Bank charges and interest on business borrowing
- Invoicing and accounting software subscriptions
Marketing and Advertising
Website costs, business cards, online ads, sponsorships of genuinely business-related events u2014 all fair game.
Training
Here’s a distinction that trips people up: training to maintain or update skills you already use in your existing business is claimable. Training for a genuinely new skill or career direction isn’t u2014 HMRC treats that as a personal investment in yourself, not a cost of running your current business.
Subsistence While Travelling for Work
Reasonable food and accommodation costs when you’re away from your normal working base overnight for a business trip. It doesn’t extend to your everyday lunch while working from your usual location.
What You Can’t Claim
- Ordinary commuting between home and a regular place of work
- Personal insurance — life insurance, private health cover
- Training for a new career, rather than your existing trade
- Client entertaining — this is specifically disallowed, even though it’s a genuine business cost in most people’s eyes
- The personal-use portion of anything with mixed business and private use
Don’t Forget the Trading Allowance
If your total self-employment income for the year is £1,000 or less, it’s automatically tax-free under the trading allowance u2014 you don’t need to report it or claim any expenses against it at all. Above £1,000, you register and file as normal, claiming your actual allowable expenses (or the trading allowance itself as a flat deduction, if that happens to work out better than your real costs, though most established businesses with genuine costs do better claiming actual expenses).
Records: Keep Them, and Keep Them Digital
Every claim needs evidence u2014 a receipt, an invoice, a bank statement line. Without it, HMRC can simply disallow the claim if it’s ever queried. Keep records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year. If you’re within the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax mandate, digital record-keeping is now a requirement, not just good practice u2014 a shoebox of paper receipts stops being enough.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Claiming 100% of a Mixed-Use Cost
Your phone, car, or home internet almost always have some personal use — claim the business proportion only.
Switching Mileage Method Mid-Way
Once you’ve chosen mileage rates for a vehicle, you’re committed to that method for as long as you use it for the business.
Not Comparing Simplified vs Actual Costs
The flat rate is easier, but it isn’t always the bigger number — worth calculating both, at least once, to see where you land.
Losing Receipts
No evidence generally means no claim if HMRC asks — a habit of photographing receipts as they land solves this permanently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim for my home office if I only work from the kitchen table?
Yes — you don’t need a dedicated room to use the simplified flat rate based on hours worked.
What’s the mileage rate for 2026?
45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles by car or van, then 25p after that.
Can I claim client entertaining?
No. Client entertaining is specifically disallowed, regardless of how business-related the occasion was.
Do I need to keep every receipt?
Yes, for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for that tax year — HMRC can ask for evidence of any claim.
What if my self-employed income is under £1,000?
It’s automatically tax-free under the trading allowance, and you don’t need to report it at all.
Want a Second Pair of Eyes on Your Expenses? Talk to Filing Accounts UK
The line between “allowable” and “not quite” isn’t always obvious, and it’s an easy area to either under-claim or get wrong. At Filing Accounts, we help sole traders and freelancers get their expenses right and file accurate Self Assessment returns every year.
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