Business Use of PC

[pdonnar]

I work at home as a freelance consultant, doing virtually all my work via the internet. I have a main PC which I use for work and a standby PC for use in emergencies if the main PC should break down (this happened several years ago and I lost work while it was under repair). I buy a new PC every three or four years and the old one becomes the standby. I also have a small netbook which I take abroad. The standby PC is never used (except to update the software from time to time), and the netbook is only used when abroad. My private internet use is mainly done on an iPad and the main PC is used for business at least 95% of the time.

Up to now I put the main PC and netbook as business capital expenditure. Is this correct? Should I deduct some percentage for private use? If so, how much? I don't buy top-end machines and I don't claim the internet service as an expense since I would have that anyway.

Thanks for your help.

[mullet]

This sounds like swings and roundabouts, but it would make sense for you to crunch the numbers just to see what the result is.

- You don't adjust for private use of the PC.
- You don't charge internet cost to your business.

So maybe you should make an adjustment of 10% or 20% to computer costs (consumables, power, capital allowances) ... and claim maybe 80% or 90% of your broadband costs? And what about heat & light?

Only you know the answer in your case, but where a person is not milking a business for every claimable penny that often balances out private use adjustments not being made. It isn't strictly correct, but if it produces roughly the right amount of tax for HMRC then no-one should be worried. It all depends on how fussy you are, but as I said it would make sense to work it out now and again just to make sure that you're not losing out or denying HMRC some money.