How to claim tax back on your van

In the trades services industry, a lot of people ask, ‘Can I claim a van on my tax return?’

This is really a question about expenses. As a member of the self-employed workforce, you’re able to deduct your business expenses when you calculate your tax bill. It helps to reduce the tax you pay on your income. As you’re in charge of declaring your untaxed income to HMRC and paying it every tax year, it’s also in your hands to manage your business versus personal expenses. 

What are business and personal expenses? 

As you might guess, business expenses are the things that you spend for your business. That could be something like any specialised clothes, uniform or your tools. A personal expense, in comparison, would be something like clothes that you buy to wear outside of work or dinner that you buy at a restaurant. 

We recommend opening a business account (or a personal bank account that you use for your business spending) to keep all of your finances separate and organised. 

When do I do my expenses?

There are two answers to this question. 

When it comes to recording your expenses, you should do this throughout the tax year – from 6th April to 5th April. It’s important that you have evidence of your spending that you can present to HMRC when you do your tax return. 

You deduct your expenses from your earnings when you calculate your tax bill. And this is done annually. If you need a hand with the calculation (which surely we all do?) take a look at our calculator below. 

So, can I claim a van on my tax return?

Yes, you can claim tax on your van back. But not always in the same way.

• You can claim your van as a capital allowance
• You cannot claim using the annual investment allowance
• If you’re not eligible to claim the full cost of the van, you can claim:
  • Fuel
  • Licence fees
  • Breakdown cover
  • Vehicle insurance
  • Repairs and servicing
• Speak to your accountant to see what you could claim