My rent - a business or personal expense?

[qika]

Hi, apologies if this question is common sense, but... Does anyone know if the Inland Revenue would raise an eyebrow if I included my privately rented room as a business expense? I live in the room, but it is also the registered company office. The company has not begun trading yet and won't do so this tax year. I realise that I should be splitting the rent into personal and company expenses, but would the Inland Revenue bother finding out / investigating a �40 a week expense? Also, the investments will be traded over the internet. Would I be OK putting the full internet expenses into the accounts? Would the I.R. care that I had blurred the lines? Indeed, how would they be able to prove that I hadn't only used the internet for researching investments? Hope someone can share their wisdom with me. Thanks in advance! MJ.

[pinus]

If you can raise the questions about your fudging, so can they. They've seen it all before. Don't forget the "wholly and exclusively" test of expenses.

[Mrs_Pegasus]

And I think you will find that should you declare one of the rooms as a business then you could be liable to business rates on that room and it may effect you selling the property on in future because it would be part business. Like pinus said. They have seen all before. Play it straight and they will be a help rather than a hinderance.

[Maud]

The only wisdom that I can share with you is that if you have to have your accounts prepared by an accountant and he spots or you tell him of anything shady, however small, then he is now obliged on pain of up to 14 years imprisonment to report you to the National Criminal Intelligence Service. Again, by the same law and with the same penalty, he cannot tell you that you have been reported. He must also secretly report you to the NCIS if he advises you to take a certain course of action and you do not do it.