Guidelines for clients

By Artlupa: administration & expenses guideline for our clients

Below you can find some guidelines for submitting your admin to us. Please read in order to be complete and efficient.

Fiscal and commercial expenses

All expenses are business expenses when you determine it be a business expenses. For fiscal purposes, it is a slightly different story. Business expenses are not always seen or allowed to be fiscal expenses, meaning it is not lowering (not deductible from) your profit and by this influences the amount of tax that needs to be paid.

We have three kinds of business expenses which are a type of fiscal expense:
1.private expense, meaning not deductible
2.business expense, deductible
3.mixed expense, under specific conditions deductible

An example how complex it is: If you buy a business suit it is a private expense (A), so it is not deductible. But if you are a football player or a performing artist it is a business expense (B) and if it has a Logo of your company on it all of a sudden it is a mixed expense (C).

A. Private expenses are expenses made for personal purposed, not for your business. Therefore, they are not tax deductible. Examples of this are the expenses of buying a television or having your hair cut ( only non performing artists).

B. Business expenses are the expenses you have incurred for your business, like buying some tools or registering your company to the Chamber of Commerce. These costs are fully tax deductible.

C. Mixed expenses are the expenses that are not entirely businesslike, but not entirely private either. In this case, you have to administrate which part of the cost is a private expense and for which part it is business-like. The private part is not tax deductible, but the business part is!

An example of mixed expenses: You posses a mobile phone that you use to call your clients and suppliers with (60% of total usage), but you use it to call your friends and family as well, say for 40% of the total usage. The phone was priced 60 EUR and you pay your provider 20 EUR a month. In this case 60% of the initial and the subscription costs are tax deductible. So in the first month your businesslike costs sum up to 48 EUR (60% of (60 + 20 EUR)) and in each following month your businesslike phone costs are 12 EUR (60% of 20 EUR).

Business bank account It is the most efficient if you have a separate account on which you pay and receive transactions related to your company, a business account. It is easier for yourself, because it only shows the business transactions.

Submitting your administration It is important that your administration describes what percentage of your mixed costs are businesslike. You can do this by stating the percentage on the receipts you deliver to us.
Usually, you submit your administration once or four times a year. It is important to deliver your administration in the right way, at the right time to reduce time and therefore costs. You do not need to make overviews about how much VAT ( BTW in Dutch) you have paid. Below you find the requirements for the delivery of your administration.

Please sort your receipts in the appropriate category. Use one envelope for each category. The categories you can choose from, are:
*reiskosten (travel expenses)
*telefoon/fax/internet (telephone/fax/internet)
*kantoormateriaal (office supplies)
*studie/research (study/research)
*abonnementen/literatuur (literature/subscription)
*porti/verzendkosten (mail costs)
*inventaris (inventory)
*acquisitie/representatie (representation)
*lunch/diner (lunch/diner)
*kosten van de omzet (cost of sales)
*verzekeringen (insurances)
*administratiekosten (administration expenses)
*inkopen (purchases)
*afschrijvingskosten (depreciation)
*publiciteitskosten (publicity expenses)
*onderhoudskosten (maintenance expenses)
*klein inventaris (small inventory)
*werkruimte (workspace)
*persoonlijke verzorging (personal care)
*gas, water en licht (gas, water and light)
*rente en bankkosten (rente en bankkosten)

Please mention costs which are directly related to assignments / projects.

When some part of an expense is private (does not have anything to do with your work), please mention which part private is, preferably in percentages

There is no need to hand in receipts of private expenses, like medical insurance expenses, holiday expenses, clothing and barbershops. Costs made for buying clothes or going to the barber are not deductible either. However, some of these costs are deductible for income taxes.

When you have made expenses which relate to diner, relation gifts, study or research, please mention at which occasion the expense was made. The same applies to expenses made for clothes or personal care. Only expenses that relate to your business can be used for your administration.

Do not forget to ask for a receipt containing VAT (BTW). Writing down the VAT on a receipt yourself does not make a receipt a VAT-receipt.

Hand in all your invoices, including the ones that have not been paid, invoices without VAT and invoices with 0 % VAT.

Please send in your receipts from gasonline stations. The VAT on these are tax deductible, however they have to be paid with your own credit card or debit card.

Do not forget to hand in your business related insurance statements/policies and bank statements.