This category includes any monthly software subscriptions you might pay for the business such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Gmail or Getty Images.
It includes subscriptions to professional bodies in your industry, trade magazines or any online content costs. You can include any other subscriptions you have here such as The Economist or Harper's Bazaar magazines that sit in reception.
It would also include fees paid by your company for fees paid to a professional body for an employee.
What's included
Any business-related monthly recurring software subscriptions or licenses you have for the company. Examples include:
Project management tools
Development operations software
Accounting and legal software
The list goes on!
Employee membership fees to professional bodies listed here.
Magazine or online content subscriptions for the office.
What's not included
If the company you pay is not on the approved list, you should categorise it to an employee benefits category such as Educational Assistance for Employee.
Patent and copyright costs.
How is it taxed?
Proven that the subscription is necessary for the operation of your company, any expenses incurred come off your pre-tax profit.
The payment made for this is a deductible expense and you don't have to report anything to HMRC or pay tax/NI if all the following apply:
The company pays the organisation directly or the employee pays and the company reimburses them
They are on this list of approved bodies
You have exemptions covering your fees and subscriptions
Tax tips
Be wary of any subscriptions paid for the personal benefit of an employee, these will need to be reported on a P11D.