Im a new sole trader, question about my car

[gavinjones]

Hello all, brilliant website by the way. It’s a wealth of knowledge.

I will start from the beginning but try to keep it short and sweet… I am an electrician and got made redundant in mid December, and instead of trying to find another job I did my dream and became self employed, on the 15/12/08 (not a great time I know, but needs must).

I did have a company vehicle and a weekend car of my own (my pride and joy) unfortunately the car had to be part-xd as it was not suitable and I have brought a pick-up truck 4x4 that I can use for work and pleasure.

My question is where do I stand claiming expenses on the price of the vehicle? (which i own outright) And the running costs? Would I be better to use the truck for business use only and get insured on my girlfriend’s car for private millage?

Many Thanks Gavin

[thebusiness]

You just need to work out (as a percentage) how much you will be using the vehicle for private use and how much you will be using it for business - then you can put the business portion of all expenses against your tax (make sure you keep all receipts!). The initial purchase cost of the vehicle will be classed as capital expenditure and will also be calculated on the business portion of the amount paid.