What Expenses Can UK Freelancers Legally Claim

Are you a freelancer in the United Kingdom? If so, familiarise yourself with the expenses that qualify as allowable costs. According to HMRC, you can claim allowable expenses. You can legally claim these expenses, but ensure that these expenses are incurred solely for your freelance work. Now let’s read this blog and know about these expenses.

Common Allowable Expenses

Office Costs

You can claim expenses for stationery and office supplies like pens, paper, and printer ink. Office costs include the bills for your phone, mobile, fax, and internet, but only the business-related portion. Your freelance work may involve postage and printing. So, do not forget to claim expenses associated with your business correspondence. Moreover, you would not believe it, but if you have computer software used for less than 2 years or are making regular payments to renew its license, you can claim that expense too.

Business Premises Costs

If you rent or own a workspace, you can claim:

• Rent and rates: Costs for business premises
• Utilities: Heating, lighting, and power expenses
• Insurance: Policies related to your business premises

Travel Expenses

If you are required to travel for your freelance work, you can claim vehicle costs by using simplified expenses, which implies that you can claim a flat rate per mile. The current HMRC simplified-expense rate is:

55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles
25p per mile after 10,000 miles
24p per mile for motorcycles

For the 2026/27 tax year, self-employed freelancers using simplified expenses can claim 55p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile thereafter. The rate for motorcycles is 24p per mile.

If you travel for your freelance business, you may be able to claim qualifying business travel costs. These can include train, bus, taxi and other public transport fares, as well as parking and qualifying accommodation and meal costs for business trips. If you use your own car or van, you may be able to use HMRC’s simplified mileage rates instead of calculating actual vehicle costs.

Clothing Expenses

While everyday clothing, even if worn for work, is not claimable, you can claim for:

• Uniforms: Required for your freelance work
• Protective clothing: Necessary for health and safety
• Costumes: If you are an entertainer

Staff Costs

If you employ others in your freelancing business, you can claim payments to your employees, additional staff benefits like bonuses and pensions, cost for any outsourced work and contributions made on behalf of employees

Reselling Goods

For those who buy goods to sell, you can claim:

• Stock and raw materials: Items purchased for resale
• Direct production costs: Expenses directly related to producing goods

Legal and Financial Costs

You can claim expenses for:

• Professional services: Fees for accountants, solicitors, surveyors, and architects, provided they are for business reasons.
• Insurance: Professional indemnity insurance premiums
• Bank charges: Business-related bank, overdraft, and credit card charges
• Loan interest: Interest on business loans and hire purchase agreements

Training Courses

You can generally claim training costs where the training updates or improves skills and knowledge that you already use in your business. Training that enables you to start a new business or move into a completely new area of business is generally not an allowable expense.

Marketing and Advertising

Allowable expenses include:

• Advertising: Newspaper ads, directories, and bulk mail campaigns
• Website costs: Design, hosting, and maintenance
• Free samples: Given to promote your business

Note that entertaining clients or suppliers is not an allowable expense.

Working from Home

Freelancers who work from home can either calculate the actual business proportion of household costs or use HMRC’s simplified expenses rates. For 2026/27, the simplified rates are £10 per month for 25–50 hours of home working, £18 for 51–100 hours and £26 for 101 hours or more. The simplified rate does not include telephone or internet costs, which can be claimed separately based on business use.

Record Keeping

Keep accurate records and supporting evidence for your business expenses. You normally do not send receipts or other proof when submitting your Self Assessment tax return, but HMRC may ask to see your records if it checks your tax return.

Still confused or not sure what you can claim? As a UK-based accounting firm with years of experience, we sincerely help freelancers like you across the UK so that they can stay on the right side of HMRC and save some hard-earned money.