Renting apartment - bills, council tax etc

[Evanses Elevenses]

I have had a brief trawl but haven't come u with an answer to the question - are council tax and utility bills allowable expenses on a property you rent for the purposes of Mon-Fri accommodation?

This chap asked the same question but didn't seem to get the answer.

I know all the potential pitfalls of entering into a lease agreement and that it is likely to be costlier but it's a lifestyle thing for me. Don't want lonely hotel rooms, don't want a houseshare.

[Lance]

if you're renting for just Monday - Friday then you don't pay council tax.
Whether you pay utilities or not is down to the landlord.

However....
The fact that you're asking tells me that you're not renting it Mon-Fri. You're renting all week but pretending to just rent for Mon-Fri for tax purposes. If you're that transparent to me then how do you think HMRC will see it?

If I rent somewhere for just part of the week I would not expect to be asked to cover either as it's part of the price. Especially as the landlord may well want to rent it out at the weekend.

[Evanses Elevenses]

if you're renting for just Monday - Friday then you don't pay council tax.
Whether you pay utilities or not is down to the landlord.

However....
The fact that you're asking tells me that you're not renting it Mon-Fri. You're renting all week but pretending to just rent for Mon-Fri for tax purposes. If you're that transparent to me then how do you think HMRC will see it?

If I rent somewhere for just part of the week I would not expect to be asked to cover either as it's part of the price. Especially as the landlord may well want to rent it out at the weekend.

I'll be renting it for 6 months - there's no other option under his model but ostensibly I'll be using it Mon-Fri and going home for weekends. So, presumably I can claim the whole cost of the rental and associated fees and all utility bills plus council tax. At least that's how I see it but I dare say there are those who beg to differ.

Maybe one for my accountant.

[northernladuk]

I'll be renting it for 6 months - there's no other option under his model but ostensibly I'll be using it Mon-Fri and going home for weekends. So, presumably I can claim the whole cost of the rental and associated fees and all utility bills plus council tax. At least that's how I see it but I dare say there are those who beg to differ.

Maybe one for my accountant.

Your accountant should always be your first point of call but I would go with what you've said as well. Many of the questions we get on here are much more complicated with people asking about using it for weekend visits or people with no fixed home living in it for a period etc. Pretty complicated. A straight 5 days a week purely for business is pretty clear cut.

The food in the evening is an interesting one though. Can you claim stuff you get from Tesco's to cook or not often causes a healthy debate.

[Evanses Elevenses]

YThe food in the evening is an interesting one though. Can you claim stuff you get from Tesco's to cook or not often causes a healthy debate.

I was told by my accountant that if it's something preprepared then fine but if you make something from scratch with all the raw ingredients then it's not claimable.

[Lance]

I was told by my accountant that if it's something preprepared then fine but if you make something from scratch with all the raw ingredients then it's not claimable.

I'd not heard that one before.
If that's the case then you might consider the £25 a night scale rate allowance.

[pscont]

I have had a brief trawl but haven't come u with an answer to the question - are council tax and utility bills allowable expenses on a property you rent for the purposes of Mon-Fri accommodation?

This chap asked the same question but didn't seem to get the answer.

I know all the potential pitfalls of entering into a lease agreement and that it is likely to be costlier but it's a lifestyle thing for me. Don't want lonely hotel rooms, don't want a houseshare.

What you can do is claim 22/31s of the total accommodation price (rent+c tax+bills) for the duration of the work away contract (up to 2 years).
This is the most straightforward way.

[northernladuk]

What you can do is claim 22/31s of the total accommodation price (rent+c tax+bills) for the duration of the work away contract (up to 2 years).
This is the most straightforward way.

Just ignoring the 22/31 bit...

The OP has been outted as trolling sockie and has been banned but just a bit of pedantry. It's up to the point you know you will be there two years so unless your renewal dates work exactly it's highly possible the last renewal won't be claimable...

But you've ignored me so not sure why I bothered writing this.

[Hobosapien]

In the past I've rented something close to the client and claimed it 100% as an expense through my Ltd (i.e. all bills relating to the rental property were in my name and claimed back), working to the 24 month rule. Even the deposit, which was paid back to the Ltd when returned post rental.

I never bothered claiming for food as that is less clear cut and by drawing the line at purely the cost of using the rental property I showed I wasn't taking the piss.

I always maintained a permanent address elsewhere, maintained a travel record of going home each weekend to back up travel expenses, and ensured the rental was purely due to necessity of client location in relation to my permanent address being outside of realistic commuting range.

It also proved cheaper to my Ltd than alternatives such as hotels or guest houses so was seen as a prudent business decision.

Never had a problem and neither did my accountant.

[Boomer]

In the past I've rented something close to the client and claimed it 100% as an expense through my Ltd (i.e. all bills relating to the rental property were in my name and claimed back), working to the 24 month rule. Even the deposit, which was paid back to the Ltd when returned post rental.

I never bothered claiming for food as that is less clear cut and by drawing the line at purely the cost of using the rental property I showed I wasn't taking the piss.

I always maintained a permanent address elsewhere, maintained a travel record of going home each weekend to back up travel expenses, and ensured the rental was purely due to necessity of client location in relation to my permanent address being outside of realistic commuting range.

It also proved cheaper to my Ltd than alternatives such as hotels or guest houses so was seen as a prudent business decision.

Never had a problem and neither did my accountant.

I’ve done exactly the same and it was all fine with my accountant as well. So rent, council tax, bills, internet, food as well as I travelled home at weekends.