GoSimpleTax uses Santa example to raise awareness of self-assessment expenses

Every year, millions of self-employed people across the UK collectively fail to claim for millions of pounds’ worth of expenses

He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice. He’s going to find out the proportion of his heating bills he’s allowed to claim for on his self-assessment tax return.

Santa is the ultimate example of a self-employed person and, as a result, Oldham-based tax experts GoSimpleTax have chosen to use the bearded hero as an example of self-assessment best practice.

Every year, millions of self-employed people across the UK collectively fail to claim for millions of pounds’ worth of expenses.

GoSimpleTax’s self-assessment software addresses this – prompting users to claim for items they might have either forgotten about, or never knew they could claim for in the first place.

In their campaign to raise awareness of the expenses that the self-employed are rightfully entitled to claim for, GoSimpleTax has published a rundown of the expenses Santa would be able to claim for if he was filing his tax return in the UK.

These include using his home as a workshop, utility bills, dry cleaning his red and white uniform, travel expenses (especially big on Christmas Eve), getting his sleigh serviced, his reindeers’ and elves’ salaries and public liability insurance bought to insure the big man against any accidental damage caused by climbing down chimneys.

The full run-down is available on the GoSimpleTax blog, as part of a light hearted, seasonal campaign to raise awareness of self-assessment expenses and how claiming for what you’re entitled to doesn’t have to be complicated.  

Mike Parkes, technical director at GoSimpleTax, said: “At GoSimpleTax we understand that tax can be a very inaccessible topic for the self-employed, even people who have been self employed for years and years.

"That’s why we developed the software that we have today – to make the process more transparent, user-friendly and simple.

“This Santa campaign is a good humored way to show the self-employed what they’re entitled to claim for.

"It’s also part of our push to encourage people to fill in their self-assessment early.

"The later you leave the process, the more anxiety and restlessness it’s going to cause in the New Year.”

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