Where relevant overhead and associated costs are incurred, the amount that counts as campaign expenditure is the portion that reasonably reflects usage during the campaign. It is that portion which must be included in the return and counts towards the spending limit.1
This applies to items such as:
office space
business rates
electricity bills
provision of phone lines and internet access
provision of office equipment of any kind
The proportion that reasonably reflects usage is generally the amount that is incurred over and above the usual costs in a given period.
Eg
For example, a party pays a standard amount per month for electricity. In the period in the lead up to the election it incurs an extra amount above what it would ordinarily pay. The extra amount is the amount that must be reported in the return.
Broadband eg
For example, a party has a contract for broadband of a fixed amount every month. Although the party uses the broadband during the regulated period, the price remains the same as usual. Therefore no spending needs to reported in the return.
Which costs are not included?
VAT
If you have paid VAT on an item, you must include this when reporting the costs of the item in your return. You must still include VAT even if it can be reclaimed as a business expense.
Invoices for payments made to companies based overseas may not always include VAT. If you have paid VAT, you should include this as part of the cost of the item when reporting, even if VAT is not included on the invoice.
For example, you pay for digital material to be published as adverts on a social media platform based overseas. You paid VAT on the adverts, but your invoice does not include VAT. You must still include the VAT you paid when reporting the costs of the adverts in your return.
Which costs are not included?
The costs of water, gas, council tax and childcare do not need to be reported. They are not considered sufficiently closely connected to regulated campaign activities.