DICT8 Plus Transcription Group 2023

[Whitestar55]

Here's the new thread. Hope everyone finds it x

@Carosel2 @danblack87 @Gally123 @TypoQueen1 @Lunnuni @deflatedbirthday @nomadchild @Frazzledbynature @Chrissols @cathyk2002 @Pinksville

Sorry if I've missed anyone.

@cathyk2002 - now that we no longer need to send in invoices other than computer/laptop I think the biggest expenses are heating in winter and broadband.

For broadband I work it out roughly as follows - how many days in the month, say 30. So divide monthly bill by 30. Then I multiple that my how many days I have worked, say 20. Then divide by 2 for half for worktime and half for non-work. So if your broadband bill is £30 per month, that's £1 per day, so £20 for working days, £10 for work (ie tax and £10 for pleasure usage). So approximately £120 per year to claim off tax as number of days per month vary etc.

Heating is a bit more tricky. Say you use gas for heating and your gas bill is £60 per month. For a 30 day month that is £2 per day. For 20 working days that is £40. However, you can only claim for heating the one room you are working in. So you have to count how many radiators you have in the house - say 5. Divide £40 by 5 = £8 per month, then it is half for working time and half for non-working time. So approximately £24 to claim per year if heating on for 6 months. People might argue a third due to sleep but I do not heat the house when I am sleeping.

If you use an electric heater which I do sometimes as well, I usually work it out as 1 unit of electricity per hour, so if your electric is 20p per unit and you use an electric heater for four hours that is 80p to claim. Don't forget to note if VAT is included in your unit price or extra.

Other people may work it out differently and maths was never my strong point but this works for me. Generally for running a laptop plus lights in winter I charge 1 unit of electricity a day (as the minimum can work out).

It is a real pain to work out, esp with all the changes in tariff prices and varying number of working days per month etc but being able to claim these expenses off tax is worth it in the long run, and you do not want to be cold when typing (though I found extra thick socks last year did help).

Thanks Gally123, need to be a maths genius to work that lotout but then how do you claim it as working it out yourself as no invoice for that ?? 🤔Should I leave that to Tax2U to sort out on my behalf ??

Very quiet today, assume because of England's Doctor strike 🙄

@cathyk2002 - you will have your monthly bills etc and you need to keep these as proof as the taxman may ask to see your accounts.

Just to say, for the gas etc it is based on your bill and actual usage that you need to base your calculations on (and not your monthly direct debit). So it does take some time to sit quietly and work out. As these days companies send email/online statements make sure you store them on your laptop/computer or you may want to print them out as proof.

I do not know anything about Tax2u, never heard of them, they may charge you for their services. If you use a service you have to mention it on your tax form and that might make it more liable to be checked.

@cathyk2002 - just one thing to add - I use a small diary to note not only my daily work hours and amount earned (this might also be asked by tax man so you need to make a note, including breaks) and also oddities like when electric heater used, but the cost of this diary is also tax deductible - now that DICT8 no longer send them out!

I do keep an account of what I do thankfully

@cathyk2002 I use an accountant, just for ease, and he automatically gives me £1,000 for working from home - I also get this allowance from some employed work I do from home so it is the correct amount. If you thought your expenses would be more, then you would put the higher figure, but £1,000 is a pretty fare amount I think.

@cathyk2002 I should have added, the £1,000 allowance is regardless of how many hours you do, it is your home working allowance - the Goverment website also explains this, so even if you only work a day a week from home you still get the £1,000 allowance.

Thanks Chrissols, I would assume Tax2U would be aware of this then. Will probably contact to find out from them though.

Think I paid them £50 and just send invoices to them and they file for future use. HMRC seem to be aware of them anyway

@Chrissols @cathyk2002 isn't the £1000 allowance a business set up one-off? I was warned if you claim this then it limits what you can claim for in the future, ie if the following year your laptop crashes and you need to buy a new one, you cannot claim for it as it is presumed to have been claimed as part of your set-up expenses. In the long run it may be better to claim as you go.

@Gally123 no, it is a yearly allowance for anyone working from home, I did double check with the Inland Revenue after I posted it once before on here and it was questioned.

@Gally123 you could still claim for a computer if it crashed, you just go for the one that is the highest amount, and £1000 is a lot to build up in expenses. It is a far better and more financially rewarding way of doing it, and yes, it can be claimed every single year.

@Chrissols - I think you might find that £1,000 is the allowance you are allowed to earn before paying any tax.

@Gally123 check you your accountant. I am just saying what mine plus the Inland Revenue have both said, but, yes, please do check.

@Chrissols "You can get up to £1,000 each tax year in tax-free allowances for property or trading income from 6 April 2017. If you have both types of income, you’ll get a £1,000 allowance for each.
If your annual gross property income is £1,000 or less, from one or more property businesses you will not have to tell HMRC or declare this income on a tax return. You may be required to complete a tax return for other income.
If your annual gross trading income is £1,000 or less, from one or more trades you may not have to tell HMRC, however there are circumstances when you must register for Self Assessment and declare your income on a tax return."

@Gally123 you are looking at a completely different thing, I can’t remember the figure of what we are allowed to earn before tax but it’s in the region of £12,500, the allowance of £1,000 is on top of this for absolutely anyone working from home whether as a business or as a contractor/self employed

@Chrissols - I know the limit you can earn before paying tax is about £12,500 but the £1,000 figure seems to be what you can earn before telling them and needing to fill in a tax return form.

@Gally123 no, you are incorrect there, I would put a pic up of my tax return that is done by a professional accountant which would make it clear, but can’t for obvious reasons. Speak to your accountant , they will explain it better than I am doing 🙂

Blimey, they're bleeding quick. Was working on a long multiple letter dictation and when finished wouldn't spellcheck so shut it and re-opened, yep, you've guessed it ........ 2/3 had vanished and had to be redone !!! 😡😡😡😡😡 Had not 1 but 2 e-mails saying they'd noticed I'd been doing job for a while and only got 8hrs to do it ..... well finished at nearly 5hrs in total, having to basically do it twice over in total !!! 😡😡😡😡

Oh, and I had loads of notes to secretary as well !! 😡😡😡😡

@cathyk2002 oh I would have been fuming, hope it was a decent pay one

Yeah, I was, not too bad at 300+ lines ...... but still 🙄

I don’t worry too much about these messages now. I once had a power cut and emailed DICT8 to inform them as I was worried I would get the “you’ve been doing this task a while” message when she messaged me back to say they are computer generated and not to worry about them!

has it gone quiet already for summer?

Junior doctors strike so a lot of clinics cancelled.

I think the junior doctors may have forgotten/not read the Hippocratic Oath