Is furniture
tax deductible?

Yes for business furniture: desks, chairs and shelving used for the business are equipment, an expense on the cash basis or capital allowances on traditional accounting (GOV.UK). Landlords cannot claim furniture first provided in a let home, but can claim replacing it under replacement of domestic items relief (SA105 notes).

For a sole trader, a desk, chair, shelves or a shop counter are business equipment, relieved in the normal way. For a landlord, the rules are stricter. Furnishing a let property for the first time is capital and gets no relief against rent. Replacing an item later, like for like, is allowable under a specific relief.

Is furniture tax deductible?

The HMRC rule

Claim equipment you keep as an allowable expense on the cash basis, or as capital allowances on traditional accounting. The rule comes from Office, property and equipment, Work out your rental income when you let property, Claim capital allowances.

GOV.UK treats equipment you keep for the business as an expense on the cash basis or capital allowances on traditional accounting (office, property and equipment). The SA105 notes say landlords can claim the cost of replacing domestic items, such as moveable furniture, furnishings and appliances, in residential lettings, but not the initial cost of an item provided for the first time, and only up to the cost of a like-for-like replacement (SA105 notes).

When you can claim it

• Desks, chairs, shelving and storage used for the business.
• Shop fittings, display units and salon furniture.
• For landlords, replacing beds, sofas, wardrobes, carpets and appliances in a let home.
• Disposal costs of the old item, when replacing, for landlords.

When you cannot

• Household furniture that is not used for the business.
• For landlords, the first furnishing of a let property.
• The improvement element of a better replacement.
• Fixtures that are part of the building, such as fitted kitchens, as domestic items.

What to claim instead

Landlords furnishing a property for the first time get no relief against rent for the furniture. Fitted items such as kitchens and bathrooms are part of the building: replacing them like for like is a repair. For a home office, claim the desk and chair you bought for work.

How to decide if you can claim it

1. Was it for the business? A cost is only allowable if you incur it wholly and exclusively for the business. If it also serves a personal purpose that cannot be separated, such as clothing that keeps you warm or a meal that keeps you going, HMRC disallows it.
2. Is part of it personal? Where a cost has a business part you can identify, such as the business calls on a phone bill or the business miles in a car, you claim that part and leave the rest out, on a reasonable basis you can explain.
3. Is it a running cost or something you keep? Whether it is a running cost or something you keep depends on what you buy. Items used up within two years, and regular renewals, are running costs; things you keep are relieved through capital allowances on traditional accounting and as expenses on the cash basis.
4. Is there a specific rule? For furniture, the deciding rule is equipment you keep, such as a computer: claim equipment you keep as an allowable expense on the cash basis, or as capital allowances on traditional accounting.

Worked example: a landlord replaces a sofa

A landlord furnished a flat in 2022 for £3,000, with no relief. In 2026 she replaces the sofa, which cost £500 originally, with a similar one for £650, plus £40 to dispose of the old one. She can claim the replacement cost of a like-for-like sofa, £650, and the £40 disposal cost, less anything she got for the old sofa.

Home office furniture

A desk and chair bought for a home office are business equipment. If they are used only for work, claim them in full. If the room is also used by the family, and the furniture too, claim a reasonable business share.

Business premises

Furniture and fittings for a shop, salon, café or office are equipment, relieved as an expense on the cash basis or capital allowances on traditional accounting. Integral features, such as lighting and heating systems, are special rate items on traditional accounting.

Replacement of domestic items relief

The relief covers moveable furniture, furnishings such as curtains, linens and carpets, household appliances and kitchenware, provided solely for tenants in a residential let. The new item must replace an old one that is no longer available for use. It applies to furnished, part-furnished and unfurnished lets.

Like for like

If the replacement is an improvement, such as a washer-dryer replacing a washing machine, you can claim only what a like-for-like replacement would cost. A modern equivalent, such as a similar model of today's standard, is still like for like.

Selling the old item

If you sell the old item or part-exchange it, deduct what you receive from the claim. Disposal costs, such as removal, are added. The relief does not apply to rooms let under Rent a Room.

Where it goes

Sole traders put furniture with equipment: box 30 on the cash basis, or capital allowances on traditional accounting. Landlords put replacement domestic items in their own box on the UK property pages, costs of replacing domestic items.

If you are a landlord

Landlords claim replacement furniture under replacement of domestic items relief, in the costs of replacing domestic items box on the UK property pages (SA105 notes). The first furnishing of a property is not relieved.

Where it goes on your return and in MTD

For a sole trader, the allowable part goes under other business expenses (SA103F box 30 on the full self-employment pages). Under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, it goes in the same category of your quarterly update, which is the category TapTax files it under when you record the cost.

For a landlord, it belongs in other allowable property expenses (SA105 box 29 on the UK property pages), and in the matching category of a Making Tax Digital property update.

If your turnover was under £90,000, you can use the short self-employment pages (SA103S), which ask for a single figure for total allowable expenses rather than a box-by-box breakdown, and the full pages let you give just a total in box 31 too. The category still matters for your own records and for Making Tax Digital, where each quarterly update uses the same categories unless you choose to send one consolidated figure.

Most sole traders now use the cash basis, the default from the 2024/25 tax year, which counts a cost when you pay it. On traditional accounting you count it when you incur it, and equipment you keep goes through capital allowances rather than expenses.

How much an allowable cost saves

The value of a deduction is the tax it removes from your profit, not the cost itself. At the basic rate a sole trader saves 26p for every pound of allowable expense, at the higher rate 42p, and in the personal allowance taper between £100,000 and £125,140 as much as 62p. Landlords pay no Class 4 on rental profit, so they save 20p or 40p.

What £1,000 of allowable expense saves a sole trader in 2026/27

• Basic rate (20% + 6%)£260
• Higher rate (40% + 2%)£420
• Additional rate (45% + 2%)£470
• Allowance taper band (60% + 2%)£620

Records to keep

Keep purchase invoices with the date and cost, a list of the equipment you own for the business, and a note of any personal use. When you sell or scrap an item, record what you received, because it affects capital allowances or, on the cash basis, counts as income. Records must be kept for at least five years after the 31 January deadline for the tax year.

From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 keep these records digitally and send quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital, falling to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. The MTD requirement checker shows when it applies to you.

Common mistakes

• Landlords claiming first furnishing costs.
• Claiming the improvement element of a replacement.
• Claiming household furniture as business equipment.

Related expenses

This item sits in the other business expenses category, alongside art and collectibles, care home fees, charity donations, clothing and workwear, cryptocurrency, fines and penalties, funeral costs and glasses and eye tests. The A to Z of expenses answers the same question for every other cost.

TapTax sorts each cost into the right category as you record it, applies the business share where you set one, and keeps the receipts with the figures, ready for your quarterly updates and final return.