What expenses can I claim as a self-employed person? This is the most financially rewarding question in freelancing — every legitimate expense you claim reduces your taxable profit, saving you 20–45p in tax per pound. Yet HMRC estimates that self-employed people collectively miss out on millions in unclaimed expenses yearly, mostly through not knowing the rules or poor record-keeping. Here’s the complete guide to what’s allowable, what’s not, and how to claim with confidence.

The golden rule

HMRC allows expenses that are “wholly and exclusively” for your business. That’s the entire test. Your laptop used 90% for work and 10% for Netflix? Claim 90%. A suit you also wear socially? Not allowable (the “duality of purpose” rule kills most clothing claims). Coffee with a client to discuss a project? Allowable. Coffee alone while working? Not allowable (you’d eat anyway). Apply “wholly and exclusively” to everything below and you’ll rarely go wrong.

What expenses can I claim as a self-employed person? The full list

Home office costs:

• Simplified flat rate: £6/week (£312/year) for working from home — no calculations, no evidence needed. Claim it even if your actual costs are lower.
• Actual costs: proportion of rent/mortgage interest, council tax, utilities, insurance based on rooms and time used. Worth calculating if you have a dedicated office — often £1,000+/year. (Don’t claim a disproportionate share if it risks capital gains issues on your home — get advice for large claims.)
• Office furniture, equipment, stationery, printer ink.

Travel:

• Mileage: 45p/mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p after — in your own car. Keep a mileage log (date, destination, purpose, miles).
• Train, bus, taxi, flights for business journeys — but not regular commuting to a fixed workplace (the commuting rule is strict).
• Hotels and meals when travelling overnight on business (the “occasional meal” while travelling counts; your daily lunch doesn’t).
• Congestion charges, tolls, parking for business trips.

Equipment and technology:

• Computers, phones, tablets — full cost deductible via Annual Investment Allowance (apportioned for personal use).
• Software subscriptions, apps, cloud storage.
• Website costs: domain, hosting, design.
• Phone and broadband — business proportion.

Professional costs:

• Accountant and bookkeeping fees, legal advice.
• Professional indemnity, public liability and other business insurance.
• Professional memberships and subscriptions (if relevant to the trade).
• Training courses that maintain or update existing skills (training for a new trade isn’t allowable — harsh but true).

Marketing:

• Advertising, website, business cards, social media tools.
• Networking event costs.

Financial:

• Business bank charges, payment processing fees (Stripe/PayPal cuts).
• Interest on business loans.

Staff: wages, subcontractor costs, employer NI — all allowable.

What you can’t claim (common disappointments)

• Everyday clothing — even if you only wear it for work (the suit rule). Exception: protective clothing, uniforms, costumes for performers.
• Commuting — home to a regular workplace is never allowable, however long.
• Personal meals — your daily lunch isn’t a business expense.
• Entertaining clients — surprisingly, client entertainment is not tax-deductible in the UK (though VAT may be reclaimable in some cases).
• Fines and penalties — parking tickets, HMRC penalties. Never allowable.
• Personal grooming — haircuts aren’t deductible, whatever your client-facing role.

Record-keeping: the boring part that saves you

• Keep every receipt — photograph/scan immediately (our phone scanning guide makes this painless) and store digitally. HMRC can ask for records going back 6 years.
• Use a separate bank account — see business accounts for freelancers. It makes expenses self-documenting.
• Log mileage contemporaneously — reconstructed logs impress no one.
• Use accounting software — even the free tiers categorise expenses automatically. See our accounting software comparison and bookkeeping guide.
• Note the business purpose on ambiguous receipts — a one-line note (“client dinner with X re project Y”) written at the time is gold in an enquiry.

Pre-trading expenses: the bonus most people miss

Expenses incurred up to 7 years before you started trading can be claimed as if incurred on day one — equipment bought while preparing, training, initial marketing. If you bought a laptop six months before going freelance intending to use it for the business, it’s claimable. Dig out those receipts.

The home office calculation: flat rate vs actual costs

The £6/week flat rate is beautifully simple — £312 a year, no evidence needed. But if you work from home substantially with a dedicated office, actual costs often dwarf it. The calculation: add up annual mortgage interest (not capital repayments), council tax, home insurance, utilities, and broadband — say £6,000 total. If your office is one of six rooms used 40 hours of 168 per week, the claim is roughly £6,000 × 1/6 × 40/168 ≈ £238. Hmm, that’s actually less than the flat rate in this example — which shows why you should calculate both and claim whichever is higher. Where actual costs win big: dedicated offices in expensive areas, high energy use (heating a home office all winter), and full-time home working. Keep the workings in your records — HMRC accepts reasonable apportionments, and the calculation takes ten minutes once a year.

One caution: claiming a large proportion of home costs (especially mortgage interest) can theoretically affect capital gains tax when you sell the property — exclusive business use of a room is the trigger. For most freelancers with a desk in a multi-use room, it’s a non-issue, but if you’re claiming thousands, a quick accountant check is cheap insurance.

Don’t overlook simplified vehicle expenses: instead of tracking every litre of fuel and repair bill, you can claim HMRC’s flat mileage rates (45p/mile for the first 10,000 business miles, 25p after) — usually simpler and often more generous than actual costs for typical cars. You must choose one method per vehicle and stick with it, and you can’t switch to actual costs later for the same vehicle. Keep a simple mileage log (there are free apps for this) noting date, destination, purpose and miles. For most freelancers driving a personal car for business, flat rates win on both simplicity and value.

The bottom line

What expenses can I claim as a self-employed person? Anything wholly and exclusively for the business: home office (£6/week flat rate or actual costs), travel and mileage, equipment, software, professional fees, insurance, marketing, and training that maintains your skills. Not: clothing, commuting, personal meals, entertaining, or fines. Keep digital receipts, log mileage as you go, use a separate account, and claim pre-trading expenses. Every pound legitimately claimed is 20–45p back in your pocket — it adds up to thousands.

GOV.UK allowable expenses is the official list. Next: how much tax sole traders pay.