As 5th April gets closer, a lot of business owners start asking the same question “have I actually claimed everything I’m allowed to?” It’s a good question, because one of the easiest ways to overpay tax is not by doing anything dramatic, but by simply missing the small things. A subscription here, a mileage trip there, a professional fee you forgot to log… it all adds up.
If you’re self-employed, run a small business or are a limited company Director, now is the ideal time to review your costs and make sure you’re not leaving legitimate claims on the table.
Here’s a practical guide to the types of expenses business owners commonly forget before the tax year ends and what to watch out for.
Why checking expenses before 5th April matters
The tax year ends on 5th April, which means this is your last chance to properly review the financial activity that falls into the current tax year. If you miss valid business expenses, you could end up with:
- Higher taxable profit than necessary
- A bigger tax bill than you should have
- Poorer visibility over what your business is really spending
- More work later when you try to piece things together from memory
This isn’t about “claiming everything possible” without thinking. It’s about making sure genuine business costs are recorded properly and supported by good evidence.
The golden rule is that the expense must be justified as a business cost.
Before looking at examples, it’s worth remembering the basic principle. HMRC’s rule is that expenses generally need to be wholly and exclusively for business use to be allowable. HMRC also makes clear that what you can claim depends on the type of business you run, whether that’s a sole trader or a limited company. That means:
- Genuine business costs = usually worth reviewing
- Personal spending = not claimable
- Mixed-use costs = need care and usually only the business proportion may be relevant depending on the setup
If you’re ever unsure, it’s always better to check than to guess.
Common expenses business owners often forget
Here are some of the most common areas that get missed.
- Software subscriptions
This is a big one. Monthly direct debits are easy to ignore because they blend into your bank feed, especially if they’re low cost. Examples might include:
- Accounting software
- Design tools
- Scheduling platforms
- CRM systems
- Video conferencing tools
- Cloud storage
- Website hosting or domain renewals
Individually they might not look like much, but over a full year they can add up surprisingly quickly.
- Professional fees
A lot of business owners remember the obvious big costs but forget the support costs around the edges. This can include fees for:
- Accountancy
- Bookkeeping
- Payroll
- Legal support
- Professional memberships
- Specialist consultancy linked to the business
These are exactly the sorts of costs worth reviewing before the year ends.
- Mileage and business travel
If you use your own car for business journeys, this is one of the most missed areas. Typical forgotten examples include:
- Visiting clients
- Going to networking events
- Travelling to temporary work locations
- Collecting supplies
- Business-related meetings away from your normal base
If you haven’t kept a proper mileage log, this is where it gets much harder to claim confidently. The same goes for train fares, parking and other business travel costs that are sitting in emails or apps but haven’t been recorded yet.
- Mobile phone and internet costs
If you use your phone or internet for business, there may be a business-use element worth reviewing. This is especially common for:
- Sole traders working from home
- Freelancers using personal devices for client work
- Director’s handling business admin outside the office
The key here is being sensible and evidence based. If something is partly personal and partly business, you need to be clear on what portion is genuinely business-related.
- Home office costs
If you work from home, there may be home office costs worth reviewing depending on how your business is structured and how you work. That might include a proportion of:
- Electricity
- Heating
- Broadband
- Office supplies
- Use of a dedicated workspace
This is an area where people often either:
- Don’t claim anything at all, or
- Claim too casually without understanding the rules
So it’s worth handling carefully and making sure the method is appropriate for your setup.
- Training and development (where relevant)
If training is directly relevant to maintaining or improving your current business skills, it may be worth reviewing. Examples could include:
- Industry-specific CPD
- Software training
- Technical refreshers
- Courses linked to your existing service offering
This area can get nuanced, especially where training expands into a completely new trade or skillset, so it’s one to check rather than assume.
- Small recurring costs that don’t look important
These are the sneaky ones. The little costs that feel too small to matter are often the ones that go missing because they don’t feel urgent. Examples include:
- Postage
- Printing
- Stationery
- Small online tools
- Stock top-ups
- Payment processing fees
- Bank charges on business accounts
One missed £12 subscription doesn’t matter much. Twelve missed £12 subscriptions, plus small fees across the year? That’s a different story.
Expenses limited company Directors often overlook
If you run a limited company, there are some additional areas that are worth reviewing carefully, such as:
- Director-paid business expenses that haven’t been reimbursed yet
- Software or subscriptions paid personally but used by the company
- Professional fees related to running the company
- Business mileage not yet recorded
- Pension planning conversations that haven’t been actioned
The important thing is making sure the records are clean and that anything paid personally on behalf of the company is dealt with properly rather than left sitting in the background.
What you should not claim
This is just as important as knowing what you can claim. Red flags include:
- Personal shopping put through the business
- Family or lifestyle spending with no business purpose
- Mixed-use costs with no reasonable split
- “Just in case” claims you can’t evidence
- Guesswork instead of records
If HMRC ever asks questions, the strength of your claim usually comes down to whether the expense is reasonable, business-related and properly supported.
The real cost of missing expenses
Missing expenses doesn’t always feel dramatic in the moment. But over time, it can lead to:
- Overpaying tax
- Inaccurate profit figures
- Poor cashflow planning
- Confusion at year-end
- More work when preparing accounts or tax returns
Often the most frustrating part is that the money was already spent, you just didn’t record it properly.
Final thoughts
Before the tax year ends, it’s worth giving your expenses a proper once-over. Not because you want to “find things” that aren’t there, but because good bookkeeping and sensible tax planning are about making sure your numbers reflect reality. If you’ve genuinely spent money running the business, that should usually be reflected in your records.
Need help checking whether you’ve captured everything before 5th April? Why not reach out and make sure you’re not overpaying unnecessarily. Give us a call on 01173 700 079 or e-mail hello@steppingstonesaccountancy.co.uk.
