Common Expense Categories

Where do your business costs go on TinyTax's P&L? This guide explains each expense field and what to include, following the micro-entity format under FRS 105.

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The Four Expense Categories

TinyTax's P&L uses the statutory micro-entity format. All your business costs go into one of four fields:

Field	What goes here
Cost of raw materials and consumables	Materials, stock, packaging, supplies used to produce goods or deliver services
Staff costs	Salaries, wages, employer National Insurance, pension contributions, employee benefits
Depreciation	Reduction in value of equipment, vehicles, and other fixed assets in your accounts
Other charges	Everything else — rent, insurance, subscriptions, bank charges, professional fees, utilities, travel, office costs

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Cost of Raw Materials and Consumables

This is your direct cost of producing goods or delivering services. Include:

• Raw materials and components
• Stock purchased for resale
• Packaging and shipping materials
• Consumable supplies used in production
• Subcontractor costs directly related to production

Don't include: Overheads like rent, utilities, or office supplies — those go in Other charges.

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Staff Costs

Everything related to employing people. Include:

• Gross salaries and wages (including director's salary)
• Employer National Insurance contributions
• Employer pension contributions
• Employee benefits (health insurance, company car benefit costs)
• Statutory sick pay, maternity pay

Don't include: Subcontractor or freelancer invoices — those go in Cost of raw materials (if production-related) or Other charges (if not).

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Depreciation

The accounting write-down of your fixed assets. Include:

• Depreciation charges from your accounts
• Amortisation of intangible assets
• Impairment losses on fixed assets

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Other Charges

This is the catch-all for every business cost not covered above. Common items include:

Category	Examples
Premises	Rent, rates, service charges, utilities (gas, electric, water)
Office costs	Stationery, printing, postage, phone, broadband
Professional fees	Accountant, solicitor, tax software subscriptions
Insurance	Business insurance, professional indemnity
Travel	Business travel, mileage, accommodation
Marketing	Advertising, website costs, business cards
Bank charges	Account fees, transaction charges, interest paid
Repairs and maintenance	Equipment repairs, property repairs (if not capitalised)
Subscriptions	Trade memberships, software licences
Sundry expenses	Anything else not covered above

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What About Disallowable Expenses?

Some costs are included in your P&L but aren't deductible for tax purposes. Common disallowable expenses include:

• Client entertaining — meals, drinks, events for clients
• Fines and penalties — parking fines, HMRC penalties, court fines
• Depreciation — added back automatically (capital allowances replace it)
• Charitable donations — claimed separately, not through the P&L

TinyTax has a separate Disallowable expenses field in the tax computation section. Enter the total of non-deductible costs there — they'll be added back to your taxable profit.

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Common Questions

Q: My accounting software has 20+ expense categories — how do I fit them into four fields? A: Add up all your direct production costs → Cost of raw materials. Add up all staff-related costs → Staff costs. Take your depreciation figure → Depreciation. Everything else → Other charges.

Q: Where do I put director's loan interest? A: Interest paid on a director's loan to the company goes in Other charges. If the director is charging interest, it's also a disallowable expense (add it to the disallowable expenses field).

Q: I'm a property company — where do I put repairs? A: Property repairs go in Other charges. They reduce your property income for tax purposes. For capital improvements (structural changes, extensions), consider whether capital allowances apply instead.

Q: Where do I put the cost of filing with HMRC or Companies House? A: Other charges. Filing fees and tax software subscriptions are allowable business expenses.

Q: My company only has a few small expenses — do I need to split them across fields? A: If all your costs are general overheads with no staff costs or raw materials, you can put everything in Other charges. Only use the other fields if you have costs that genuinely belong there.

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Still Have Questions?

If you're unsure where a specific expense belongs, get in touch.

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Last updated: February 2026