Business expenses — what you can claim

Since your legitimate business costs reduce your taxable profit, knowing what genuinely counts as a business expense is directly valuable — it's the difference between a fair tax bill and an inflated one. The rules vary by country, but the principles are broadly similar and worth understanding.

The general test is whether a cost is incurred "wholly and exclusively" for your business — genuinely a cost of doing the work, not a personal expense. Common allowable examples often include: equipment and tools, software and subscriptions used for work, business travel, professional insurance, marketing, stock and materials, professional fees, and a portion of costs like phone or working-from-home use where they're used for the business. If it's a real, necessary cost of earning your income, it's usually claimable.

Some costs are partly business and partly personal, and only the business portion can be claimed. A phone used for both work and personal calls, a car used for business and private trips, or a home used partly as a workspace — in each case you claim a fair, reasonable business proportion, not the whole thing. Being honest and reasonable here matters; the tax authority expects a sensible basis, not an inflated claim.

Equally important is knowing what generally can't be claimed: purely personal spending, entertainment in many cases, fines, and anything not genuinely for the business. Trying to claim personal costs as business ones is a real risk that can cause problems if you're ever checked. The goal is to claim everything you're genuinely entitled to — no less, because that's overpaying — and no more.

Why this matters for you. Claiming your legitimate expenses fully and accurately is one of the biggest levers a self-employed person has over their tax bill. But it depends entirely on records — you can only claim what you can evidence. mySal's expense tracking and receipt capture exist to make sure nothing legitimate is missed and everything is properly recorded.