home/office legality
Discussion
at what point does your house cross from being a home to an office if you work from home? is it if you have someone who comes in to work who doesn't live there? or when you start selling things? or when you put up a sign?
and when you do cross this barrier, what difference does it make? is it actually legal to do so - do you have to start paying business rates, or apply for a change in zoning, or what?
any help much appreciated
and when you do cross this barrier, what difference does it make? is it actually legal to do so - do you have to start paying business rates, or apply for a change in zoning, or what?
any help much appreciated
This has been covered on PH quite a few times.
As long as the business activity being conducted at home has no obvious impact on the overall use of the property or the surrounding environment, there are usually no tax, business rates or Council Tax implications. even having someone work with you at the premises is not normally a problem.
The local council will be concerned if the use of the home as business premises starts changing the nature of the environment around the house (multiple deliveries, large vehicle deliveries, noise or pollution aspects etc).
If these are considerations, then you would have to apply for planning permission to carry such activities out and you would more than likely not be allowed. If you were allowed to go ahead, you would almost definitely have to pay some Business Rates.
As long as the business activity being conducted at home has no obvious impact on the overall use of the property or the surrounding environment, there are usually no tax, business rates or Council Tax implications. even having someone work with you at the premises is not normally a problem.
The local council will be concerned if the use of the home as business premises starts changing the nature of the environment around the house (multiple deliveries, large vehicle deliveries, noise or pollution aspects etc).
If these are considerations, then you would have to apply for planning permission to carry such activities out and you would more than likely not be allowed. If you were allowed to go ahead, you would almost definitely have to pay some Business Rates.
I know it's easy for us "oldies" to be aware of ancient PH threads. However, I've not used the search facility too much myself but you might find some of the older posts on this subject if you have a go.
The other question that crops up in this area is the impact "converting" a house might have on Capital Gains Tax. The main point to be aware of is the extent of any such conversion. Using a dining room or bed room as an office will have no impact whatsoever. Converting your garage into a surgery/workshop/full-blown office might.
The other question that crops up in this area is the impact "converting" a house might have on Capital Gains Tax. The main point to be aware of is the extent of any such conversion. Using a dining room or bed room as an office will have no impact whatsoever. Converting your garage into a surgery/workshop/full-blown office might.
Eric Mc said:
As long as the business activity being conducted at home has no obvious impact on the overall use of the property or the surrounding environment, there are usually no tax, business rates or Council Tax implications. even having someone work with you at the premises is not normally a problem.
Business rates happens to be my specialised field. The issue of working from home is fairly complex and the best advice is to keep quiet! The lead authority on it involved a lady working for the Inland Revenue who wanted a reduction in her Council Tax as she was working from home. The problem was that the resultant Business Rate liability wiped out the savings from the reduction the Council Tax.
By having someone working for you from home you are opening yourself up to a business rate assessment, although if they are working from your lounge or dining room you might get away with it. The problem comes if you use any area exclusively for business. So if you convert your garage to an office to work from then that will be subject to business rates. However if you don;t tell anyone no one will know so no assessment!
You might want to look at www.voa.gov.uk/council_tax/examples_working_from_home.htm
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff