If you’re a gardener working as a Sole Trader in the UK, there are many things you can claim back as expenses for your business. Every penny you claim as an expense means less tax you have to pay at the end of the year when you come to file your Self Assessment with the HMRC. Here are 5 top tax tips for items and services you can claim back as expenses.
1. Materials
Anyone with a garden knows that it takes hard work, time, and dedication to make it look beautiful. But, what they don’t mention, and what sets you, the professional gardener, apart from the average joe are the quality materials, seeds, soil, fertilizers and other tricks of the trade. Unfortunately, the high-quality materials also come at a high cost. But you have another trick up your sleeve – tax savings. By investing £3,000 in these gardening materials, you would be able to save £600 through tax.
2. Repair of tools
No matter how good your tools are, they are bound to break at some point. So instead of buying new, expensive tools, repairing the trust-worthy ones you already have is a better option. Especially if you consider that by investing £200 in repairing and maintaining them, you save £40 in tax in addition to the opportunity costs of buying new ones.
3. Protective clothing
Some bushes and flowers can be quite dangerous, either through thorns, poison, or some other defensive mechanism. So, in order to protect your health and be able to complete any gardening job, good quality protective clothing is crucial. Investing £120 in it is reasonable since you cannot place a price on health, but no one said you cannot benefit from it through tax savings, which in this case would be £24.
4. Laundry and cleaning
Ruining your work clothes with dirt and fertilizers is a nightmare. Even though washing them is a possibility, they will never be the same, as the supplies you can buy at a store for removing tough stains would damage the fabric. In order to avoid this disaster and hassle, invest £60 in professional laundry and cleaning, keeping your clothes fresh and clean, while you look more presentable alongside the £12 tax savings in your back pocket.
5. Trade magazines
Trade magazines are a valuable asset for you. Through it you can learn new tips and tricks, learn the new trends and standards, and also advertise your services. An investment in this should be a no brainer. Your skills, your reach, and actual client base will increase with each edition of the magazine. One trick you don’t need the magazine for is the £10 tax savings on every £50 spent on it.
So, there you have it. 5 ways to save money every year on your taxes if you’re a UK Sole Trader. And to make keeping track of all your expenses even easier, 1Tap Receipts exports all of the key data from a simple photo of your receipt meaning you’ll never have to type out another receipt again when claiming back expenses.
