Advertising and marketing

Yes

Advertising and marketing costs are fully deductible as business expenses. This covers Google Ads, Facebook Ads, leaflet printing, flyer distribution, business cards, website hosting and design, van sign-writing, and any other cost of promoting your business.

Common questions

Can I claim Google Ads spend?

Yes. Online advertising spend is a direct business expense.

Can I claim the cost of sign-writing on my van?

Yes. Van sign-writing is an advertising expense, fully deductible in the year you pay for it.

Can I claim my business website costs?

Yes. Website hosting, domain registration, and ongoing design or maintenance costs are deductible as running expenses. If in doubt about a large one-off build cost, take advice on whether it should be treated as capital expenditure.

Can I claim sponsoring the local football team?

Yes, if it is genuinely to promote the business: your name on the shirts, a banner at the ground, a mention in the programme. The catch is HMRC's all-or-nothing rule: if there is any non-business purpose alongside, say your child plays in the team, the whole cost can be disallowed, not just part. Keep the promotion visible and the reasoning business-shaped, and take advice before anything large.

Watch out for

Entertaining clients (meals, events) is specifically not deductible even if intended to win business. This is client entertainment, not advertising.
Sponsorship that buys an enduring asset (equipment, a vehicle, a racehorse) is capital, not an advertising expense.

Common mistakes

Claiming client hospitality as marketing. Entertainment is specifically not deductible, whatever it was meant to win.
Sponsoring something you have a personal connection to and assuming the business share survives. HMRC's rule is all or nothing: any non-business purpose can lose the whole deduction.

Cash basis vs traditional accounting

Advertising is a day-to-day expense on both methods, deducted in the period you paid.

HMRC sources

https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim42555

Last verified: August 2026 · Tax year 2026/27

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Self-employed tax, explained Self-employed tax calculator

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This guidance is for general information only. Tax rules change. Verify with HMRC or a qualified accountant before filing.

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