Can i claim my petrol back on my own?

Can I claim for petrol/mileage costs?

• I've been a self employed for a year now and have two regular clients I visit weekly.The question i would like answered is; can I claim for the petrol/mileage to these clients homes and back to mine. I understand there is a 40p a mile allowance but don't know if this applies to me as I dont then go off to another job; instead I go home or on invoice day I go to the bank and deposit cheques/cash. Could anyone please clarify this for me. I have kept all my petrol receipts and although the amounts travelled are not huge,it would be a help.

• Answer:

  You are a self employed person working from home. Any travel costs you incur in going to clients' homes must be included in your accounts. You have two choices: 1. You include an allowance of 40p pm for the first 10,000 miles and 250 pm thereafter for all business miles. You cannot then include anything else. 2. You include the actual costs of running your car - from petrol to MOT, servicing, insurance, etc. In your self assessment, you add back the cost of privtae mileage - you simply work out what proportion of your annual mileage is private. In addition, you claim capital allowances which are 20% of the value of the car, again, restricted to the private proportion. As you are working form home, I hope you are also including a proportion of your utility bills and phone bills for business.