Allowable expenses - working from home with husband

[Freelancertori]

Hi all, I’ll try and keep this as concise as possible as I have a tendency to ramble!

My question relates to the allowable household expenses of working from home in a rented house. 4 rooms, I work from the kitchen full time, 5 days per week. Husband usually works from the living room so we don’t interrupt each other’s calls.

Husband was getting his business started up in 2019/20 so didn’t earn any income, I was floating his business, but he did cover my work during my maternity leave and earned 12k which he has declared. He hasn’t claimed any expenses as every penny we spent came out of my bank account.

Is it allowable (or moral even!) for me to claim a second 1/4 of my home for business expenses? We did have two people switching lights on in two rooms, boosting the heating, boiling the kettle, plugging in, using the phone... it was my cost but not sure it’s my expense to claim? Even though I’m the sole source of funding for my husband’s business and he was working through mine too?

Thank you for any advice or thoughts you’re able to offer

[bd6759]

Your post is also confusing. In one sentence you say your husband didn’t earn any money, but then say he earned £12000.

You don’t say if you (and he) are employed or self employed,.

Whatever amount you may be able to deduct as an expense, it won’t be 1/4 of your household costs (and most certainly not 1/4 each).

[iwmtaxadvisor]

Assuming you are both self employed, both sole traders...

> Is it allowable (or moral even!) for me to claim a second 1/4 of my home for business expenses?
No. You cannot claim for expenses on a business which had nothing to do with you.

> We did have two people switching lights on in two rooms, boosting the heating, boiling the kettle, plugging in, using the phone... it was my cost but not sure it’s my expense to claim? Even though I’m the sole source of funding for my husband’s business and he was working through mine too?
No.

But:-
a) you should both claim the right proportion of expenses from your own business income (you're saying he did not)
b) if you really want to go back and correct his return you can amend the 2019/20 tax return still
c) you might be able to regard your payment as capital input to his business which can be returned at some point
d) for the future if he has no income and you do, and you are still paying expenses, then you might consider making his trade a partnership with you in which case you can consider using your proportionate loss from the partnership against your other taxable income
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/losses-hs227-self-assessment-helpsheet/hs227-losses-2019

There's quite a lot to study to figure how to claim more. Start with https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim47820