contracting through umbrella company - claiming expenses

K

KERRYK

Guest
Hi ,
I recently started working as a contractor through a certain umbrella/accounting for contractors company, all going well so far.
I have been encouraged to claim for all sorts of 'expenses' .
I am trying to reconcile what they say I can claim for with what is actually legal.
The main one I am wondering about is whereby I claim for restaurant meals ( now and again , not daily ) - as far as I can find out , these are not officially tax deductable but the umbrella company lets me claim them!
Any ideas on this?
Thanks , Kerry.
 
Meals are only expensible from a tax point of view when you are travelling for business purposes, and even then there are strict limits.
 
So If i am working based in Cork , I cant really claim for a meal down the street from where i work i suppose?!?
 
thanks extopia.
obviously if theres any trouble , I take it , not this crowd of dodgers!
 
But if OP is working at a client site, then lunch is a valid expense - no? My understanding was that meals weren't allowed to be expensed from your normal place of business only (e.g. your own home or office).
 
or how about a lunch meeting with clients or potential clients where I pick up the bill?
 
Client entertainment expenses are not tax deductible, AFAIK (PS I am not an accountant).
 
Hi,

The umbrella company I am with allows me to claim expenses for substances depending on how many hours i am out of the house per day. I then have to submit my expenses on line but i do not have to send them my reciepts. I can claim up to £14.00 per day. Maybe this is the same for you....it might just depend on how much you are intitled to claim per day!

hope that was helpful for you.
 
ANSOFF said:
Hi,

The umbrella company I am with allows me to claim expenses for substances ......
Click to expand...

I tried that as well but my accountant wasn't happy about me claiming for "substances" at all ....

H
 
From the Original Post

I have been encouraged to claim for all sorts of 'expenses' .
I am trying to reconcile what they say I can claim for with what is actually legal.
Click to expand...

This is very questionable practice. It is not up to the manager to decide what is allowable. If/when there is a revenue audit, these companies and their contractors may well get a big hit.

Contractors through umbrella companies should be paying employers prsi at 10.75%. If your manager is not doing this, you will have an exposure.

Brendan
 
Client Entertainment is specifically disallowed by Revenue

Meals/Subsistence can be claimed as an allowable expense if incurred whilst working away from your normal place of work.

The key point is "normal place of work", i.e. if you spend five days per week on a client site, that is your normal place of work and you can only claim for meals/subsistence on days spent away from that site. You cannot claim that your home is your place of work unless you actually carry out most of your duties from there.

Regards
Paraic
www.prima.ie
 
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