Barrister Expenses: What You Can and Cannot Claim (Complete Checklist)

Last updated: 28 February 2026

Knowing exactly which expenses you can and cannot claim is one of the most valuable skills a self-employed barrister can develop. HMRC does not publish a checklist specific to the Bar, so this guide provides one – covering every common expense category, the rules behind each, and a complete two-column checklist you can use when preparing your self-assessment tax return.

The golden rule: wholly and exclusively for business

Every allowable expense must satisfy the “wholly and exclusively” test set out in ITTOIA 2005, s 34. The expenditure must be incurred entirely for the purpose of your practice at the Bar. If an expense has a dual purpose – part business, part personal – it is not allowable unless it can be apportioned on a reasonable basis.

This rule is straightforward in theory but produces some surprising results in practice. A barrister’s wig and gown are allowable; a barrister’s suit is not. The distinction comes down to whether the item has any personal, non-business function – and HMRC interprets this strictly.

Where an expense is partly business and partly personal, you can claim the business proportion. Your mobile phone bill, for example, can be apportioned based on the percentage of business calls. Home office costs can be claimed using either a simplified flat rate or actual cost apportionment. We cover both methods below.

Chambers expenses

Your largest single expense category will usually be chambers-related costs. These include:

• Chambers rent – the percentage of gross fees deducted by chambers for your desk, room, or tenancy. Typically 18–25% of gross fees. Fully allowable.
• Service charges – contributions towards chambers’ shared costs (reception staff, IT systems, library, printing). Allowable in full.
• Clerk’s fees – the commission paid to your clerk for securing and managing your work. Usually included in the chambers rent percentage but sometimes charged separately. Fully allowable.
• Chambers marketing levies – contributions to chambers’ website, directories, or marketing events. Allowable as a business promotion expense.

Your chambers will usually provide an annual statement showing total deductions. Retain this for your records – HMRC may request it during an enquiry. For more on how chambers costs interact with VAT, see our guide on barrister expenses for income tax and VAT.

Travel and subsistence

Travel expenses are allowable when you travel from your normal place of business (chambers) to a temporary workplace (a court, conference venue, or client meeting). The key rules are:

• Chambers to court – allowable, provided the court is not your regular workplace. For most barristers who attend different courts on different days, all court travel is allowable.
• Home to chambers – generally not allowable. This is ordinary commuting. However, if you are genuinely itinerant (you have no fixed place of work and attend a different location most days), you may be able to claim home-to-chambers travel. The test is strict and fact-specific.
• Home to court (without going via chambers) – allowable if you would have been entitled to claim chambers-to-court travel. You cannot claim more than the chambers-to-court distance would have cost.
• Conferences with solicitors – travel to solicitors’ offices, prisons, hospitals, or other locations for client conferences is allowable.
• Subsistence – reasonable meals and refreshments while travelling on business. HMRC expects the cost to be modest and proportionate. A sandwich and coffee from a station is fine; a three-course dinner rarely is.

You can claim actual costs (train fares, taxi receipts) or, if you use your own car, the HMRC approved mileage rate of 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter. See our detailed guide on vehicle expenses and tax for more on mileage claims.

Clothing: what counts and what does not

The leading case on barristers’ clothing expenses is Mallalieu v Drummond [1983] STC 665. The House of Lords held that a female barrister could not claim the cost of black court clothing (shoes, tights, white blouses) because the clothing served the dual purpose of warmth and decency alongside the professional requirement.

The result of this case is clear-cut:

• Allowable: wigs, gowns, wing collars, bands, and barrister’s bags – items with no personal use. Only the replacement cost is allowable; the initial purchase of a wig and gown on call to the Bar is treated as capital expenditure (though you can claim capital allowances on it).
• Not allowable: suits, black shoes, white shirts, dark dresses, tights, or any other clothing that could serve a personal function – regardless of how strictly professional your wardrobe choices are.

The cost of cleaning and maintaining your wig and gown is also allowable.

Home office expenses

Many barristers work from home regularly – preparing opinions, drafting skeletons, and conducting research. You can claim home office expenses using one of two methods:

Simplified method (flat rate)

HMRC allows a flat-rate deduction based on hours worked at home per month:

• 25–50 hours/month: £10/month
• 51–100 hours/month: £18/month
• 101+ hours/month: £26/month

This method requires no receipts or calculations – just a record of hours worked at home. For most barristers who work at home several evenings per week and at weekends, the £26/month (£312/year) flat rate is available.

Actual cost method

Alternatively, you can calculate the actual proportion of household costs attributable to your home office. This typically yields a higher deduction. You take the total of your heating, electricity, council tax, mortgage interest (or rent), broadband, and insurance, then apportion by the number of rooms used and the proportion of time used for work.

For a detailed explanation of both methods, see our guide on working from home as a barrister.

Worked example: actual cost method

Oliver uses one room of his four-room flat exclusively for work, four days a week. His annual household costs are: electricity £1,400, gas £900, council tax £1,800, broadband £360, contents insurance £240 – total £4,700. Room proportion: 1/4 = 25%. Time proportion: 4/7 = 57%. Allowable deduction: £4,700 × 25% × 57% = £670. Compared with the flat rate of £312, the actual cost method saves Oliver an additional £358 in deductions – worth £143 in tax at the 40% rate.

Technology and equipment

Items used wholly for your practice can be claimed in full. Items with mixed personal and business use must be apportioned. Common claims include:

• Laptop or computer – if used solely for work, claim in full. If used partly for personal purposes, claim the business proportion (typically 70–90%). Items costing over £1,000 may need to be claimed as capital allowances rather than a revenue expense.
• Mobile phone – apportion between business and personal calls. If you have a separate business phone, claim 100%.
• Printer, scanner, and stationery – claim the business proportion.
• Software subscriptions – legal research databases (Westlaw, LexisNexis), case management software, cloud accounting software, and Microsoft 365 subscriptions used for work are allowable.
• Monitor, desk, and office chair – allowable if used in your home office for work purposes.

From April 2026, you will also need Making Tax Digital-compatible software to file quarterly income updates. The cost of this software is an allowable business expense.

Professional fees and subscriptions

The following are allowable in full:

• Bar Council registration fee
• Inn of Court subscription and dining fees (to the extent required for qualifying sessions)
• Practising certificate fee
• Professional indemnity insurance (compulsory for practising barristers)
• Bar Mutual subscription
• Specialist Bar Association memberships (e.g., COMBAR, PNBA, FLBA)
• Legal directory listing fees (Chambers & Partners, Legal 500) – if paid personally rather than by chambers
• Accountancy fees for preparing your tax return and business accounts

For a full breakdown of deductible professional costs, see our guide on tax deductions for barristers.

Training and CPD

Continuing professional development (CPD) costs are allowable provided the training updates or maintains existing skills rather than teaching entirely new ones. In practice, almost all CPD undertaken by practising barristers qualifies:

• CPD seminar fees and conference attendance
• Advocacy training courses
• Specialist qualification courses within your existing practice area
• Travel and accommodation for training events away from chambers

Training that qualifies you for an entirely different profession (e.g., an MBA or a solicitor conversion) is not allowable as a revenue expense, though parts of it may qualify for tax relief under other provisions.

Books, reports, and research materials

Legal textbooks, practitioner texts, law reports, and online research databases are allowable expenses. Specific examples include:

• Archbold, Blackstone’s, Chitty, Halsbury’s, and other practitioner texts
• Westlaw, LexisNexis, and BAILII subscriptions (if paid personally)
• Specialist journals and newsletters
• Case bundles and printing costs

If chambers provides these through a shared library, you will already be paying for them through your service charge – do not claim them twice.

The complete checklist

Use this two-column reference when preparing your expense records. Print it or save it alongside your receipts.

How to record expenses for HMRC

HMRC requires you to keep records of all business income and expenses for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline. For the 2025/26 tax year (filed by 31 January 2027), you must retain records until at least 31 January 2032.

Good record-keeping means:

• Receipts – keep every receipt, whether paper or digital. Photograph paper receipts on your phone and store them in a dedicated folder or app (Dext, AutoEntry, or a simple cloud folder).
• Bank statements – maintain a separate business bank account if possible. This makes it far easier to identify and evidence business transactions.
• Mileage log – if you claim mileage, record each journey: date, destination, purpose, and miles driven. HMRC will disallow mileage claims without a contemporaneous log.
• Chambers statements – your annual chambers statement showing rent, service charges, and fee distributions is a key document. File it securely.
• Digital records – from April 2026, barristers earning over £50,000 must keep digital records and file quarterly under Making Tax Digital. Your accounting software will need to maintain a digital record of each transaction.

FAQ

Can barristers claim the cost of wigs and gowns?

You can claim the cost of replacing a wig, gown, bands, and wing collars as a revenue expense. The initial purchase when called to the Bar is capital expenditure – you can claim capital allowances on this instead. Cleaning and repair costs are also allowable.

Is the commute from home to chambers tax-deductible?

Generally no. The home-to-chambers journey is treated as ordinary commuting. However, if you are genuinely itinerant – meaning you have no fixed place of work and attend different locations on most working days – you may be able to claim the cost. This is a fact-specific test, and HMRC scrutinises these claims closely.

Can I claim for meals at chambers?

No. Chambers is your regular place of work, so meals purchased there are not subsistence. You can only claim subsistence when travelling away from your normal workplace – for example, buying lunch near a court where you are attending a hearing.

What happens if I claim an expense HMRC disallows?

If HMRC opens an enquiry and disallows an expense, you will owe the additional tax plus interest from the original due date. If HMRC considers the claim was careless, a penalty of up to 30% of the underpaid tax may apply. Deliberate overclaims can attract penalties of up to 100%. Keeping clear records and applying the wholly-and-exclusively test honestly protects you from penalties.

Should I use the flat rate or actual cost method for home office expenses?

Calculate both and use whichever gives you the higher deduction. The flat rate (up to £312/year) requires no receipts and minimal record-keeping. The actual cost method requires you to calculate total household costs, a room proportion, and a time proportion – but typically produces a higher figure (£500–£1,200/year for most barristers). Once you choose a method for a tax year, you must use it consistently for that year.