A quick question for anyone who runs a small business from home, or any tax experts come to that.
I know that if you use a part of your home exclusively for business use, you can claim back a proportion of your bills against tax.
I want to do the same, but rather than have a dedicated room as an office, all my 'business use' electricity is sub-metered. That is to say, my office is fed from the main consumer unit with a second consumer unit in the office. That consumer unit has another meter fitted, so I can record exactly how much electricity I use, rather than say I'm using 1/6th of my house for business. The consumer unit in the office also feeds another CU out in a shed/workshop, so any power I use out there is also recorded.
Now, my office is not a typical home office with just a 'pooter, monitor and printer. Oh no. If only it were that simple. Right now, I'm running five computers, seven monitors, a router and a huge rack of electronic gubbins. Unless the Mrs is cooking a dinner or using the electric shower, my office draws more power for five or six hours a day than the rest of the house uses in 24 hours. Hence the submetering, to measure the actual consumption.
So, the lovely people at EON.Next sell me my domestic electricity, a significant proportion of which I use for business, but not enough to warrant having a second 'commercial' supply installed at the property.
So I can work out how many units x the unit rate the business uses in a month, and pay myself back for the actual electricity used. Simple.
So long as I keep accurate records (I do - daily readings on the main meter and the submeter) and keep track of my actual energy costs, are HMRC happy with that as far as expenses are concerned?
Anyone else in a similar position? If so, how do you play it?
I know that if you use a part of your home exclusively for business use, you can claim back a proportion of your bills against tax.
I want to do the same, but rather than have a dedicated room as an office, all my 'business use' electricity is sub-metered. That is to say, my office is fed from the main consumer unit with a second consumer unit in the office. That consumer unit has another meter fitted, so I can record exactly how much electricity I use, rather than say I'm using 1/6th of my house for business. The consumer unit in the office also feeds another CU out in a shed/workshop, so any power I use out there is also recorded.
Now, my office is not a typical home office with just a 'pooter, monitor and printer. Oh no. If only it were that simple. Right now, I'm running five computers, seven monitors, a router and a huge rack of electronic gubbins. Unless the Mrs is cooking a dinner or using the electric shower, my office draws more power for five or six hours a day than the rest of the house uses in 24 hours. Hence the submetering, to measure the actual consumption.
So, the lovely people at EON.Next sell me my domestic electricity, a significant proportion of which I use for business, but not enough to warrant having a second 'commercial' supply installed at the property.
So I can work out how many units x the unit rate the business uses in a month, and pay myself back for the actual electricity used. Simple.
So long as I keep accurate records (I do - daily readings on the main meter and the submeter) and keep track of my actual energy costs, are HMRC happy with that as far as expenses are concerned?
Anyone else in a similar position? If so, how do you play it?
Last edited by retrotecchie; 31-10-22 at 23:11.
Don't shoot me, I'm only the piano player. I DON'T work for or on behalf of EON.Next, but am willing to try and help if I can. Not on mains gas, mobile network or mains drainage. House heated almost entirely by baby dragons.
