Tax questions, please help me!!!!

[chattingbubbles]

I am a (newly) self employed maternity nurse. I havent got to submit a self assessment until end of Jan 2013 but am trying to figure things out in the meantime.

I have been on the phone for an hour trying to get through to a real person at the tax office but just keep getting put into queues and listening to long pre recorded messages that do not help me!!! Does anyone have a phone number to get though to an actual person??????!!!....

What I am wanting to ask is:

1. Can I claim that my car loan payments every month as an expense? I couldnt do my mat nursing without a car but did have the car before I started this job. Going into mat nursing was the main reason though that I got this car as needed something reliable, previously I had a banger!

2. What (if any) proportion of my mobile phone bills can I claim as an expense? Should I be recording details of any individual calls/texts I make in relation to mat nursing? I also use phone a lot to retrive my emails as many of my enquiries come via email in the first instance.

3. I have a credit card bill in my name for £3500 from a holiday that myself, DH and DS went on in 2010. If husband pays this bill & clears it, does the £3500 count as income as the credit card is in my name? I obviously wouldnt want to pay tax on it!

4. What can you claim re: car expenses/wear & tear/servicing etc? I know I can claim mileage at 45p per mile but is there anything else car-wise I can claim?

Any help would be much appreciated! I am going round in circles!!!!!!!!

Car loan is a no you get 40p a mile that covers mot, loans, road tax and petrol

Mobile phone charge a % of your bill (depends how much you use it for work)

Car loan payment are capital.

You can claim a % of your phone, you decide what a fair amouny would be.

The cc payment is not income, it is paying off your cc.

I think you can claim a % of all your car costs, depending on how much you use it for work. I could well be wrong though, it might just be 45p a mile.

Amount*

I would strongly recommend booking on one of the HRMC courses or webinars about business expenses as this will answer all of your questions (I am an independent OT). It's free, I did the 'Newly Self Employed' course and the 'Business expenses and capital allowances' sessions - half a day each - and felt very confident doing first tax return. They hold loads of local sessions or they are doing regular web sessions where you can ask questions.

Thanks all so far, just bumping

I'm a maternity nurse and the past two years have employed an accountant to do my books as I didn't feel I was getting all the costs out, am getting him to do it this year and then will go it alone.

Does anyone have a phone number to get though to an actual person??????!!!....
Yes thanks, but they won't talk to you Seriously though, this is not a good time of year to be ringing with a general enquiry - the lines are jammed with people who have just missed the Jan 31 deadline and are in a panic. Leave it to the end of the month.

1) Car use
The easiest way to claim for car use is to claim 45p per mile for every business mile. You cannot then claim any other motoring cost (fuel, servicing, cost of car, insurance etc.) but can claim the business use proportion of the interest payments on a loan: you can never claim for the capital repayments.

If your car is expensive to run and/or both your business and private mileage are low, it might be worth claiming on the 'actual cost' basis. It is usually best to wait until you have a year's worth of mileage and costs to give to an accountant to work out the difference.

2) What (if any) proportion of my mobile phone bills can I claim as an expense?
The proportion that relates to business use. If you can argue that any private use is insignificant, you can claim it all (but HMRC might argue differently if they come to visit).

Should I be recording details of any individual calls/texts I make in relation to mat nursing?
If you do this (and log private calls/texts too of course) for a 3 month period you will have some pretty good evidence to back up your claim.

3) I have a credit card bill...
No. Only income that is related to your business is business income (!).

4) What can you claim re: car expenses/wear & tear/servicing etc?
See (1) above, if you are claiming 45p a mile the only other thing you can claim is interest.

Any help would be much appreciated! I am going round in circles!!!!!!!! confused
Find a good accountant and let them take the strain. It may cost less than you think, and may save you more than it costs!

Finally, have you registered as self employed and arranged to pay Class 2 NI?