Rotormad,
I am self employed and run my own company, as a sole trader I am allowed to reclaim any input tax levied against me in the form of bills(invoices) and or services, I can also claim for the normal vat on every day things like fuel, stationary, transport, computers, programmes and a host of other expensive items that attract VAT, however the downside is that you are open to examination at the drop of a hat (so to speak) and if you are found to have reclaimed wrongly or worse still purposely you will suffer from a severe reprimand to your wallet, most HMCE employees have no world experience and are guided blindly by their rule book, they see Black and white only NEVER any shaded areas, so enter at your peril, however the upside is that you will be allowed to reclaim all training and hours building Vat plus books and exams and GFT's, that makes the training much easier on your pocket, and if you really are serious about becoming a CPL then if you have your own business its no problem, however if you work for only one company you may find the eyes of the Irs are upon you and you would be hard pressed to convince them you were really self employed, and to boot THEY HAVE NO HUMOUR in their pea sized brains at all.
