Surprising things you can claim on your Self Assessment tax return

After years of overpaying on her tax bill, Katy Ward discovered six expenses that she could claw back from HMRC.

Having been a freelance journalist for almost 15 years, I’ve had to file a Self Assessment tax return for most of my working life.

As I specialise in personal finance, you might imagine that I’d have the process down to a fine art.

However, completing my tax return fills me with the same dread as it does the average small business owner and usually involves spending hours on hold to HMRC.

More often than not, I’m reluctant to add perfectly valid expenses to my form for fear that these will arouse (unwarranted) suspicions from the taxman.

Last year, I decided to do things properly and hired an accountant to share some of the anxiety.

While I initially baulked at his £250 fee, it turned out to be well worth the investment.

Not only did he put my mind at rest over claiming expenses, but he also identified a few deductions that hadn’t previously occurred to me.

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What are ‘allowable expenses’?

Before you can understand what you can and can’t claim, it helps to consider HMRC’s definition of ‘allowable expenses’.

In simple terms, these are expenses that are necessary to run your business and that relate solely to your self-employment.

You can deduct these costs from your taxable income, which will reduce your income tax liability.

Learn more about some of the hidden tax perks you can ask HMRC for

Six expenses I didn’t realise I could claim

While it would be impossible to cover every lesser-known expense in this article, here are just some of the things that I hadn’t realised I could claim from HMRC.

1. Interest on loan repayments and bank charges

If you’ve taken out a loan to cover business-related activities, you can claim your interest repayments on your tax return.

Likewise, you can claim for any overdraft charges on your business bank account.

However, you’ll need to make sure these meet HMRC’s definition of ‘allowable expenses’.

For example, bank accounts for which you’re claiming need to be in your business’s name, which means sole traders can’t claim if they’re operating through a personal current account.

Also remember that you can only claim the interest repayments on your debt, and not the portion of the repayment that goes towards paying off the money you’ve borrowed.

5 ways to borrow interest-free

2. Work-related training and courses

Under HMRC rules, you can claim relief on any training that helps you improve your skills and stay current on tech in your industry.

As an online writer, I often take courses in SEO, social media and AI to ensure my skills remain relevant to potential clients.

Bear in mind, you can’t claim for any training that will help you to expand into a new area unrelated to your current business.

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3. Extra relief on charitable donations

Like most UK taxpayers, I was already familiar with adding Gift Aid to my charitable donations. However, I wasn’t aware of an additional relief for Higher Rate taxpayers.

Under the Gift Aid system, UK charities can claim additional tax relief whenever they receive a donation from a registered taxpayer.

Say you donate £100, the charity can claim an additional £25 from the Government.

What I hadn’t realised is that Higher Rate and Additional Rate taxpayers can also claim their donations as an expense and receive additional relief.

The amount you can claim is the difference between the 20% rate the charity has already claimed and the highest rate of tax you pay.

Sticking with the above example, a Higher Rate taxpayer could claim an additional £25 in relief on their £100 donation (£26.25 in Scotland).

If you don’t fill in a tax return, you can also claim by requesting a P810 form from HMRC.

Read about automatic perks and how to make the most out of them in our complete tax guide

4. Software subscriptions

As someone who writes for a living, I was obviously aware that I could claim a new work laptop on my tax return.

However, my accountant pointed out a few tech-related deductions that, for some reason, hadn’t been on my radar.

For example, HMRC allows you to claim for business-related software subscriptions you use for less than two years, as well as any programs you pay for on a recurring basis.

In my case, this was my £7.99 monthly subscription to Microsoft Office.

5. Pension contributions

If you’re self-employed, there’s a good chance that you may also save into a private pension.

As you probably know, you can receive tax relief on any money you contribute to your pension.

Whatever rate of tax you pay, your pension provider will likely claim relief on your behalf at a rate of 20% and then add it to your pot. This is known as ‘relief at source’.

However, you’ll need to claim additional relief if you’re a Higher or Additional rate taxpayer.

If you don’t fill in a Self Assessment tax return, you can also request this relief in writing from HMRC.

6. My accountant’s own fee

Last, but not least, it also came as a surprise that I could claim my accountant’s fee as a legal and financial cost.

This made his £250 bill a lot easier to stomach.

Bear in mind, you can only claim for an accountant’s fee when they’re providing a service that relates to your self-employment (and not your personal tax affairs).

If, for example, I’d hired my accountant to help me plan my investments, HMRC wouldn’t allow the expense.

You may also be able to claim for other professional services, such as solicitors and consultants.

Read our full guide to tax and how to avoid overpaying

Years of overpaying

While everyone’s tax affairs are different, visiting an accountant certainly opened my eyes to a range of expenses that I’d never previously considered (or felt too nervous to add to my return).

In fact, I now shudder to think of how much tax I’ve needlessly paid throughout my career.

A word of caution – while it’s possible to fill in your return yourself and make full use of your allowable expenses, it’s sensible to check with HMRC or seek professional advice if you’re unsure whether an expense is legitimate.

Take the pain out of your tax return: let Simply Tax sort it for £115

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