Offsetting accomodation/living costs

[B19GRR]

Hi all,

One for our esteemed accounting members here!

There's a 12 month contract job that I'm interested in applying for that's in Surrey, I'm in Cambridegshire so commuting is not on option obviously! In order to be practical I would have to be looking at renting a flat in Surrey which will no doubt be a minimum of £500pcm plus utilities and council tax. Yes, I could go cheaper and live in a squalid house share, but I'm a grumpy old 36 and used to a few of lifes luxuries now, so feck that

Relocating is not an option as the gf needs to stay in Cambridgeshire as she has health problems that are under investigation at Addenbrooks and she won't even consider any major relocation until she's sorted, which could be never - that and the fact our house has already been on the market for a year and not sold yet anyway

So the simple question is, can the costs of a Surrey lifestyle get written off?

Cheers,
Rob

[Eric Mc]

What type of entity are you operating through - a sole tradership or a limited company?

[Brown and Boris]

B19GRR said:

Hi all,

One for our esteemed accounting members here!

There's a 12 month contract job that I'm interested in applying for that's in Surrey, I'm in Cambridegshire so commuting is not on option obviously! In order to be practical I would have to be looking at renting a flat in Surrey which will no doubt be a minimum of £500pcm plus utilities and council tax. Yes, I could go cheaper and live in a squalid house share, but I'm a grumpy old 36 and used to a few of lifes luxuries now, so feck that

Relocating is not an option as the gf needs to stay in Cambridgeshire as she has health problems that are under investigation at Addenbrooks and she won't even consider any major relocation until she's sorted, which could be never - that and the fact our house has already been on the market for a year and not sold yet anyway

So the simple question is, can the costs of a Surrey lifestyle get written off?

Cheers,
Rob

Are you am MP? The rules are very, very different if you are.

[B19GRR]

Eric, I'm a sole trader, which is probably Gordon Browns favourite type person to shaft.

B&B, nope I'm definitely not an MP, if I was I believe I could just work from home, never speak to people, and give myself a 50% pay rise every week

Cheers,
Rob

[Eric Mc]

If you are genuinely self employed, then any expenses incurred by you "wholly and exclusively for the purpose of the trade" are usually fully allowable.
Accomodation costs incurred whilst visiting clients and customers would normally be fully allowable under "Travel and subsistence" or a similar heading. This would include hotel/guest house type expenses.

Rent is a slightly different matter as you are effectively now living away from home just to be close to your customer so the Revenue might argue that not all of the rental and other household costs have been incurred "wholly and exclusively" for the business. I would guess that an apportionment of rent and/or other domestic costs incurred on the property under a "Business Use of Residence" heading might be the best way forward rather than trying to claim the whole lot.

[B19GRR]

Thanks Eric, great info as always. I've got a phone interview tomorrow so I guess we'll see how things go from there.

Cheers,
Rob

[UpTheIron]

Obviously there are pros and cons of each, but I've found that using Hotels Mon-Thurs works out cheaper and less hassle than renting, especially if block booking in advance.