{"id":13594,"date":"2018-10-02T12:59:54","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T10:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seoblog.taxback.com\/?p=13594"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:02:03","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T11:02:03","slug":"can-i-claim-a-second-hand-computer-as-a-work-expense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxback.com\/blog\/can-i-claim-a-second-hand-computer-as-a-work-expense\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I Claim a Secondhand Computer as a Work Expense?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re self-employed, for example, own a business or work as a contractor or freelancer, then you can claim the cost of new or secondhand equipment like a computer as a<b>\u00a0capital allowance.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>A capital allowance or deduction lets you write off the cost of an asset over some time. So for example, if you buy furniture or equipment for your office like desks or computers, you can claim these as capital allowances. If you can&#8217;t provide the original market value of the equipment or furniture, then you can use the current market value.<\/p>\n\n<p>A capital expenditure is recorded as an\u00a0asset, rather than charging it immediately to\u00a0expense.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"orange-cta-btn\"><a style=\"padding: 15px; text-align: center; border-radius: 30px; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; background-color: #e74632; color: #fff; margin: 25px 0px 25px 0px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taxback.com\/user\/#\/application\/ireland\/essentials\">Get Your Irish Tax Refund Now!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"do-i-need-receipts\"><b>Do I need receipts?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>You should always keep a record of the cost in case Revenue comes knocking with an audit, for example, if you buy a secondhand computer off a site like DoneDeal and don&#8217;t get a receipt, then you should take a screenshot of the ad in case Revenue ask for evidence of it.<\/p>\n<p>To be regarded as &#8220;allowable&#8221; for tax purposes, it must be directly related to the running of your business. So any claims you make for the computer in this case must be for business use only.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a printer you use in your home office for business purposes like printing invoices and receipts will qualify.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nvYsyA2Nv1M?si=ntGcu7m9V7sn9qRe\" width=\"100%\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-can-i-claim-as-a-capital-allowance\"><b>What can I claim as a capital allowance?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>While there&#8217;s no approved list of qualifying items of expenditure for capital allowances purposes, examples include:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Wear and tear allowances claims for qualifying plant and machinery \u2013 typically claimed at 12.5% over 8 years<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Industrial buildings allowances claims \u2013 at 4% over 25 years<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Energy efficient capital allowances claims \u2013 100% claim in year 1<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Repair expenditure claims<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Motor vehicles<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Computer software<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"what-else-can-i-claim-while-self-employed\"><b>What else can I claim while self-employed?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re self-employed in Ireland, for example, you own a business or work as a freelancer or contractor, there are also several work expenses you can claim to reduce your tax liability that year.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"you-can-claim-a-deduction-on-expenses-like\"><b>You can claim a deduction on expenses like:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>\u25cf Rent and bills for your premises<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Your employee\u2019s pay<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Running costs and lease payments for vehicles or machines<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Accountancy fees<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Interest payments for money you borrowed to finance your business<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Protective clothing<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Equipment like a computer or tools for your business<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Phone bills (we suggest you keep separate lines for personal and business use)<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Professional journal subscriptions<\/p>\n<p>You can also claim for expenses you had before your business started trading such as the cost of preparing business plans, course fees and advertising related to the business.<\/p>\n<p><b>If you spend money on something for both business and personal use,<\/b>\u00a0then you can\u00a0<i>only<\/i>\u00a0claim a deduction for the business part of the expense. This might include items such as phone bills, motor expenses and rent.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"orange-cta-btn\"><a style=\"padding: 15px; text-align: center; border-radius: 30px; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; background-color: #e74632; color: #fff; margin: 25px 0px 25px 0px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taxback.com\/user\/#\/application\/ireland\/essentials\">Get Your Irish Tax Refund Now!<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"can-i-claim-the-use-of-a-car\"><b>Can I claim the use of a car?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>You can claim the cost of running a car for your business, for example, fuel and insurance. If you own a car that\u2019s used for both business and personal purposes, then you\u2019re entitled to claim back the percentage of the running costs which relate to business use. <b>Travel from home to work<\/b>\u00a0<b>can\u2019t be reclaimed<\/b>, however, if you travel from one place of work to another location where work is also being carried out temporarily, a portion of this tax may be claimed back. For example, if you\u2019re travelling to meet a client or go to a conference.<\/p>\n<p>Remember to keep records and receipts for all your expenses!<\/p>\n<p><b>Note:<\/b>\u00a0You must always ensure that any expenses are directly related to the running of your business.<\/p>\n<p><b>A good way of retaining different expenses in your business is to keep a record of them by using the following methods:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Cashbooks<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Invoices<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Mileage records<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Bank statements<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf Receipts for purchases<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"certain-expenses-cannot-be-reclaimed\"><b>Certain expenses cannot be reclaimed:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Personal mileage expenses<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 mileage that is not directly related to business is not claimable<\/p>\n<p><b>Food and accommodation &#8211; <\/b>Expenditure on food and accommodation because of its nature will always have a dual purpose. However, in practice, such expenditure is only allowable in the following circumstances:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hotel accommodation incurred on a business trip with no personal motive for the trip<\/li>\n<li>Reasonable amounts for expenditure on food included in a bill for allowable hotel accommodation<\/li>\n<li>Cost of meals incurred where the business by its nature involves travelling e.g. long-distance lorry drivers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Clothing costs<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 non-safety normal clothing worn to work are non-claimable<\/p>\n<p><b>Client entertainment<\/b>\u00a0&#8211; although this may be a business expense, it\u2019s not an allowable deduction for tax purpose<\/p>\n<p><b>Staff entertainment <\/b>expenses are deductible as long as they are reasonable<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"orange-cta-btn\"><a style=\"padding: 15px; text-align: center; border-radius: 30px; font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold; background-color: #e74632; color: #fff; margin: 25px 0px 25px 0px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taxback.com\/user\/#\/application\/ireland\/essentials\">Get Your Irish Tax Refund Now!<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"filing-your-tax-return\"><b>Filing your tax return<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Anyone self-employed must file a tax return by the deadline which is typically around <b>31 October<\/b> following the end of the tax year in question. However, the extended deadline for people who<i>\u00a0pay and file online<\/i>\u00a0or through Taxback.com is usually around 15 November i.e. just over 2 weeks after the paper filing deadline.<\/p>\n<p>If you are unsure whether you can or can\u2019t claim an expense,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.taxback.com\/en\/ireland\/self-assessed-tax-return\/\">please apply and we&#8217;ll tell you exactly what is allowable<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are a number of work-related expenses you can claim when you&#8217;re self-employed in Ireland. \n","protected":false},"author":388,"featured_media":13609,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[368,361],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tax-tips-ireland","8":"category-tax-tips"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Self-Employed in Ireland? Maximize Your Tax Savings with Capital Allowances<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how self-employed professionals in Ireland can claim capital allowances on business equipment, from computers to vehicles. Discover what qualifies, how to keep records, and other deductible expenses.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taxback.com\/blog\/can-i-claim-a-second-hand-computer-as-a-work-expense\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Self-Employed in Ireland? Maximize Your Tax Savings with Capital Allowances\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how self-employed professionals in Ireland can claim capital allowances on business equipment, from computers to vehicles. 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