You can usually claim any wholly and exclusively business-related cost as a self‑employed expense, but the details depend on whether you’re in the UK, US, or elsewhere and on your specific work. Below is a UK‑leaning overview (since much online guidance for “self‑employed expenses” uses HMRC rules), but the principles are similar in many countries. This is general info, not personalised tax advice.

What expenses can I claim as self employed?

1. The golden rule: “Wholly and exclusively”

Most systems (like HMRC in the UK) let you deduct costs that are wholly and exclusively for running your business. Personal costs, or mixed personal/business costs where you can’t fairly split the business part, usually aren’t allowed.

In practice this means:

  • If an expense is 100% for business (e.g. domain name, business insurance), you usually claim 100%.
  • If it’s mixed (e.g. phone, internet, car), you normally claim only the business percentage.
  • If it’s mainly personal with a tiny business element (e.g. normal clothes, weekly grocery shop), you generally can’t claim.

Think of it as: “Would I still spend this if I didn’t have the business?” If yes, tread carefully or expect to apportion it.

2. Common self‑employed expenses you can usually claim

Here are the main categories that show up again and again in government and professional guidance.

a) Office, home office and equipment

You can often claim:

  • Office equipment: laptops, PCs, printers, computer accessories, and business software subscriptions.
  • Office supplies: stationery, printer ink, postage, small tools and materials used in the business.
  • Business premises: rent, utilities, repairs and maintenance, buildings insurance and security on a dedicated business property (but not the cost of buying the building itself).

If you work from home, you can normally:

  • Claim a proportion of bills (heating, electricity, water, council tax, broadband, rent, mortgage interest) based on reasonable business use.
  • Or use a flat‑rate “simplified expenses” method if available in your country (e.g. HMRC’s simplified expenses for home working).

Example: You use one room out of five in your home as an office, for about half the day. You might reasonably claim 1/5 × 50% of your electricity and broadband as a business expense.

b) Travel and vehicle costs

You can often claim business‑related travel, but not normal commuting from home to a permanent workplace.

Typical allowable items:

  • Mileage or actual vehicle costs for business trips: fuel, servicing, repairs, insurance, vehicle tax, breakdown cover, parking, and cleaning.
  • Public transport: train, bus, taxi, and flights for business journeys.
  • Accommodation while travelling for work (hotel, B&B) and modest subsistence (meals while away overnight).

Countries differ in how you claim:

  • Simplified/mileage method (e.g. HMRC’s per‑mile rates, or IRS standard mileage) instead of tracking every car cost.
  • Or “actual costs” where you track all running costs and apply a business‑use percentage.

Parking fines and speeding tickets are almost never allowable.

c) Marketing, advertising and website

Anything clearly used to promote your business is usually allowable, including:

  • Website design, hosting, domains, and online advertising.
  • Business cards, flyers, print ads, sponsorships related to your trade.
  • Social media ads and paid listings.

Entertaining clients (taking them out socially, buying tickets, hospitality) is often not allowed or very restricted, even though it feels like “marketing”.

d) Professional fees and insurance

Commonly allowable for self‑employed people:

  • Accountancy and bookkeeping fees for your business.
  • Legal fees related to business activities (e.g. contracts, debt recovery).
  • Professional indemnity, public liability or other business insurance.
  • Membership of professional bodies and trade associations, plus professional subscriptions and relevant trade publications.

Fines and penalties (tax penalties, late filing fines, etc.) are usually disallowed.

e) Phone, internet and software

Where there is clear business use:

  • Mobile phone: business‑only contract often 100% claimable; mixed‑use contracts are usually apportioned by reasonable percentage of business calls and data.
  • Broadband: business proportion only; a second dedicated business line is usually fully claimable.
  • Software and online tools: bookkeeping apps, design tools, scheduling apps, video‑conferencing, cloud storage and similar business subscriptions.

f) Training and education

Generally allowed if it maintains or improves skills you already use in your business, or keeps your professional knowledge up to date.

This can include:

  • Courses, workshops and webinars directly related to your trade.
  • CPD (continuing professional development).
  • Books and specialist materials used to stay current in your field.

Training for a completely new trade often isn’t deductible (because it creates a new asset: a new profession).

g) Clothing and protective gear

You usually cannot claim everyday clothes, even if you only wear them for work, because they have normal personal use.

What you often can claim:

  • Protective clothing and PPE needed for your job (steel‑toecap boots, safety goggles, masks, gloves, high‑vis gear).
  • Uniforms and costumes that clearly identify your role and are not suitable for general wear (branded uniforms, specialist costume).

h) Staff costs and subcontractors

If you pay others to help run the business, that is usually allowable:

  • Wages and salaries for employees.
  • Employer’s National Insurance/other payroll taxes and pension contributions.
  • Subcontractor payments and freelance support, if they are genuinely self‑employed and used for business activities.

You need proper records and sometimes contracts, in case tax authorities question whether they’re really employees or contractors.

i) Financial, banking and interest

Usually allowable:

  • Bank charges on your business account.
  • Payment processing fees (PayPal, Stripe, card processing).
  • Interest on business loans or overdrafts used for the business.

Interest on personal loans or credit cards is normally not allowable unless you can show they’re used wholly for business.

j) Stock, materials and “cost of goods sold”

If your business sells products or uses materials, you usually deduct:

  • Raw materials, resale stock, packaging and consumables.
  • Direct costs of production, including items used up in providing your service (e.g. hair products for a hairdresser, massage oils for a therapist).

The timing and method of deduction (e.g. inventory, cost of goods sold) follow local accounting rules.

k) Health insurance and pensions (often more relevant in US/other

systems)

In some systems:

  • Self‑employed health insurance premiums can be deductible (up to income limits and conditions).
  • Contributions to approved retirement/pension plans may be deducted separately from business expenses.

In the UK, pension contributions typically give personal tax relief rather than being a business expense for sole traders, so they’re handled differently from “normal” expenses.

3. What you usually cannot claim

Even if these “feel” business‑related, they are often disallowed or heavily restricted:

  • Normal commuting to a permanent base.
  • Client entertainment, hospitality and most social events.
  • Fines and penalties (parking tickets, speeding fines, tax penalties).
  • Ordinary clothes that could be worn socially.
  • Your own drawings/salary as a sole trader (your profit is what you’re taxed on).
  • Private portion of any mixed expense (holidays with a bit of business, family share of utilities, etc.).

4. How to handle mixed‑use costs

Tax authorities expect a reasonable and consistent method for splitting mixed costs.

Common methods:

  • By time: percentage of hours used for business vs personal (e.g. home office or broadband).
  • By space: proportion of your home used for business, adjusted for how many hours it’s used.
  • By usage: number of business calls/data vs total calls/data, or business miles vs total miles.

Keep notes of how you worked out the percentages in case of questions later.

5. Record‑keeping tips and current trends

Recent guidance and tools are pushing self‑employed people toward better digital records and automation.

  • Use a separate business bank account to avoid mixing personal and business spends. Many modern accounts auto‑categorise expenses and store receipts.
  • Keep digital copies of invoices and receipts; many apps let you snap photos and attach them to transactions.
  • In the UK, upcoming “Making Tax Digital for Income Tax” rules (from 2026 onwards for some) will make accurate, digital records even more important.

6. Mini “Quick Scoop” checklist

Here’s a fast checklist you can run through whenever you’re unsure:

  • Is this cost necessary for my business to operate or earn income?
  • Would I still buy it if I didn’t run this business? If yes, can I clearly split out a business portion?
  • Can I show a tax inspector a receipt and a sensible explanation of how I calculated the business share?

If you can answer “yes” to those in a sensible way, there’s a good chance some or all of it is claimable under typical self‑employed rules.

TL;DR: You can usually claim things like office costs, home office proportion, travel and vehicle costs for business journeys, marketing, professional fees and insurance, stock and materials, business software, and staff or subcontractor payments, as long as they are wholly and exclusively for your work and you keep clear records.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.