And yes… that can be true.

But honestly, what I see day-to-day with creative people isn’t usually that they’re careless.

It’s that they’re cautious.

They don’t want to get it wrong.

They don’t want to feel like they’re “pushing it”… or doing anything that might come back to bite them later.

And I get that, because creative work is already uncertain enough. The last thing you want is tax stress sitting on your shoulder.

So rather than chasing “hidden expenses” or trying to be clever… I prefer coming back to basics.

There’s one simple filter I use with clients all the time, and it’s this:

Would you still spend that money if the work didn’t exist?

If the answer is no… then it’s probably a business cost.

If the answer is yes… it might be personal, or at least mixed, and you need to be careful.

Now, tax law uses the phrase “wholly and exclusively” for business purposes. That’s the technical wording.

But in plain English… HMRC basically wants to know: is this genuinely for the business, or are we trying to sneak personal spending through the accounts?

And this is where creatives can get stuck, because so much of creative life overlaps with real life.

Your phone is your business… but it’s also your phone.

Your laptop might be for editing… but you might also watch Netflix on it.

Your home might be where you do your admin, your prep, your editing… but it’s also where you live.

So instead of trying to force everything into a “yes” or “no”, I think the healthiest approach is:

Be reasonable. Be consistent. And have something to back it up.

Let me give you a real example that comes up all the time… working from home.

If you’re a freelancer or a small limited company director, and you work from home, you can usually claim something towards that.

Not because HMRC is being generous…

But if you’re genuinely running the business from home, then some of your household costs are helping the business operate.

Things like heating, electricity, broadband… sometimes even a portion of rent or mortgage interest, depending on your setup and the method you’re using.

Now, there are two common approaches here.

The first is the simple flat rate method.

It’s straightforward.

It’s low stress.

You don’t need to start slicing up your energy bills and calculating floor space and working hours.

You just claim the flat amount… and you move on with your life.

For a lot of busy creatives, that’s a good thing, because the “system you’ll actually stick with” beats the perfect system every time.

The second approach is using actual costs.

That’s where you look at your real household costs and work out a fair business proportion.

It’s often more accurate… and for some people it can mean a bigger claim.

But it does need a bit of tracking and a bit of thought.

And here’s the bit I want to stress: the best method isn’t automatically the one that gives the biggest deduction.

It’s the one that matches the reality of your working life.

Because creative work isn’t always consistent.

Some weeks, you’re on set every day and barely at home.

Other weeks, you’re at home editing, pitching, invoicing, chasing payments, and doing pre-production.

So what I tend to do with clients is talk it through in a very human way.

How do you actually work?

How many days are you at home?

Do you have a dedicated space?

Are you using the dining table, or do you genuinely have a room that’s used for work?

And crucially… can you keep it consistent from year to year without it becoming a burden?

Now, another thing I see a lot… is people not claiming anything at all because they’re scared it won’t be allowed.

They think, “I make coffee at home while I’m working… does that count?”

And generally… no. Because you’d probably drink coffee anyway.

But if you buy a coffee when you’re meeting someone for a job… that’s different, because the expense exists because of the meeting.

That “would I still spend it if the work didn’t exist?” filter helps again.

And just to be clear, I’m not saying everyone should go and claim everything they possibly can.

I’m saying you shouldn’t leave money on the table out of fear.

The goal is a calm, compliant approach… where you feel confident in what you’re doing.

And that confidence comes from clarity.

Clarity on what’s business.

Clarity on what’s personal.

And clarity on what’s mixed… and how you’ll treat it.

So if you’re a creative professional and you’ve been a bit unsure about what’s reasonable…

Or you’ve been doing the bare minimum because you don’t want to get it wrong…

Or you’ve got a feeling you might be under-claiming, especially around working from home…

Get in touch if you need a hand