Expenses can feel overwhelming at the best of times but add in different categories of allowable expenses and things can start to get even more confusing. It’s not all about the major purchases though, and all those sundry expenses can soon add up, so it’s essential to keep on top of them.

We’ll go over what qualifies as a sundry expense, and how to record them correctly in your bookkeeping.

What are sundry expenses?

In accounting terms, sundry expenses are small one-off costs. Sometimes referred to as ‘miscellaneous expenses’ they tend to be low in value, and fairly random.

Their ad hoc nature means they don’t tend to fit neatly under your other expense categories, so grouping them together as sundry expenses makes it easier to stay organised rather than having lots of categories with one transaction each.

They can vary from one business to the next, but examples might include one-off Christmas decorations for the office, donations, or sponsorship costs.

Is it worth recording my sundry expenses?

Absolutely! Businesses can claim tax relief on their allowable expenses, so they pay tax on their profits, not their total income. Recording sundry expenses correctly in your bookkeeping means you can then include them as part of your claim for tax relief.

Although sundry expenses are small, infrequent, and impromptu by nature, that doesn’t mean you should leave them out of your financial accounts. In order to ensure you’re paying the right amount of tax and claiming the appropriate relief, it’s essential to record every expense, large or small.

You might feel that one single sundry expense by itself isn’t worth bothering with, but these can add up to something significant over the course of a year.
 

What’s the difference between sundry expenses and general expenses?

Working out whether something counts as a sundry or general expense can sometimes be quite confusing because categorising your expenses isn’t always that straightforward.
 

 
It can also help to think about how your expenses fit into your overall strategy. For instance, that lobster costume you needed to buy might seem like a random sundry expense, unless of course you needed it for your marketing activities.

It’s also worth noting that if a sundry expense becomes a more regular occurrence, you might need to create a new category so you can record it as a regular expense in your accounts. Your accountant or bookkeeper will help if you’re not sure, just make sure that you don’t miss out!

How do I claim sundry expenses?

Businesses claim tax relief on their expenses by including them in their tax return. The type of tax return that you need to submit depends on the structure of your business. For example:

• A limited company needs to submit a Company Tax Return and pay Corporation Tax.
• Sole traders will submit a Self Assessment tax return to tell HMRC about their profits and losses

Can I have sundry income as well as sundry expenditure?

You can indeed. Just like you might sometimes incur random spending, you might also receive income which doesn’t really seem to fit anywhere else into your accounts. For instance, if a client is extremely late paying the bill, so you charge them a late payment fee, or if you receive a one-off grant from the local council.

 
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