Am i right in thinking Job seekers allowance is a taxable income and that housing benefit is not? I have a self employed client who claimed both for part of the tax year. Thanks in advance
Thanks very much.
Also don't suppose you could give me the answer to the following:
I have a subbie who works away from home. The company who he is doing work for pay for his accommodation however can he or what can he claim regards food?
Try to make a habit of applying those tests to several of the stays your client wishes to claim.
Nearly all the guidance Ive ever read doesnt give a fixed amount (someone will tell me its covered in 'Simplified Expenses' now). I therefore rely on the above Concession and a bit of common sense. So often, these expenses are a ruse simply to bring down a tax bill that its a mistake to simply say £20 or £30 per night multiplied by XXX nights away. Especially for a new client, I would consider all the facts and examine the bills handed to me.
Where there was no supporting evidence at all (say a job card indicating hed stayed in John OGroats) then this would count against that particular expense. After discussing the general pattern of work with him I might query a particular food bill, call it £10 or disallow altogether if the aggregate of evidence was weak.
What doesnt help is if he has a colleague who buys his meals at Netto, spends £3 and eats it in his hotel room. They sometimes forget that if they spend £30 for 1 meal theyre £21 worse of than the Netto colleague. It also tends to include five pints of lager which to me, fails the wholly and exclusively test.
Thanks for the link. To be fair he seems to be sensible. Subways, B King, Tesco and such like. However on a particular receipt it clearly shows dining for 2 so I simply halved.
