Can you claim for Food & Drink through your Limited Company?
What’s your favourite place for a working lunch?
Is it a tea or coffee you need to keep your eyes open for your commute in the morning?
Or on a night out with your biz besties, what’s your cheeky cocktail of choice?
Now, how much better do all of those things taste when you know they’re being paid for through the business, reducing your tax and VAT bill!
I’m really sorry to have to be the stickler-for-the-rules bookkeeper here, but there is only so much we can claim .. sad, I know!
But here is our guide to make the most of what you’re entitled to – and to avoid any of us getting into trouble!
So, let’s start with what you CANNOT claim;
- That coffee or breakfast on the commute to your regular place of work (eg from home to the office)
- And same for those snacks on your commute between 2 regular places of work (eg from one of your stores to another)
- Any time you’re travelling that (although you are a company director and a very important person) really isn’t to do with work (eg having a nice dinner out with your family)
- Working in a coffee shop – as wonderful as it is! – isn’t actually a necessary business expense and therefore is not claimable
Logically, what you can claim covers the following;
- Grabbing a bite on your way to a temporary work place, that is different than usual (eg a manager has gone off sick at another site and so you need to go down there for the day, but it’s a significantly further journey than your regular office)
- Refuelling yourself on other work related trips (eg you go up to Scotland on the train for a training course)
Hopefully, that seems pretty straight forward. To claim for the above, you’ll need to provide a receipt, with an extracted VAT amount, if you’re looking to claim that back too.
Blog Suggestion: Can I claim the VAT for my takeaway drink if I don’t have the receipt?
If you’re an employer (have people on a payroll) keep reading!
Within reason, providing snacks and beverages to staff at their place of work, is, of course, all good.
And, if staff are travelling for work, you can cover their expenses.
There is an additional ‘£150 per head’ rule known as ‘the annual party exemption’. This does not need to be one event, but it can be a cost of us to £150 per year, per member of staff. This can be a night out, an office party etc, but it MUST be open to ALL members of staff, and the total cost MUST NOT exceed £150 per person, otherwise it’s no longer tax deductible.
Remember also, that if you’re running a Limited Company, that you can make use of Trivial Benefits to reduce your tax bill and keep your people happy!
Blog Suggestion: How Much Money Are You Leaving on the Table? The Hidden Tax Savings Your Business Could Be Missing
We hope this has made things a little clearer, but, as always, any questions, we’re happy to chat! For more on what you can and can’t put through your business, sign up to our mailing list below and download a copy of our Expenses Guide.
Want tax tips and advice? Check out PPF on YouTube
