Stationery and office supplies

Yes

Stationery, printer ink, postage, and general office supplies used for your business are fully deductible. This is day-to-day admin spend: paper, envelopes, stamps, folders, pens and printed forms. Keep receipts.

Common questions

Can I claim printer ink and paper for printing invoices and quotes?

Yes. Consumable office supplies used for your business are a direct expense.

Can I claim a new printer?

Yes, but it is equipment rather than stationery. On cash basis, deduct it as a normal expense when you pay. On traditional accounting, a printer is a capital item: claim it through the Annual Investment Allowance instead. The consumables (ink, paper) stay a direct expense either way.

Can I claim postage for sending quotes, invoices and samples?

Yes. Stamps, franking and courier costs for business post are fully deductible, and they add up over a year.

Watch out for

A computer, printer or shredder is equipment, not stationery. On traditional accounting it goes through capital allowances; on cash basis it is simply an expense when paid.
Supplies used partly for personal printing: claim the business share. For small amounts, HMRC expects a reasonable estimate rather than a receipt-by-receipt split.

Common mistakes

Putting a laptop or printer through as office supplies. Devices are equipment: fine as an expense on cash basis, but they belong in capital allowances on traditional accounting.
Forgetting postage. Stamps and couriers for quotes, invoices and samples are claimable.

Cash basis vs traditional accounting

Consumable supplies are a day-to-day expense on both methods, deducted in the period you paid for them. Devices like printers differ: a normal expense on cash basis, capital allowances (AIA) on traditional accounting.