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Building up a picture of all of a taxpayer’s spending is a painstaking process involving a huge number of individual items. There is a certain core of expenditure which is common to everyone in categories such as

• accommodation
• food
• personal needs

Your problem is to establish the extent of such expenditure and also the taxpayer’s spending on discretionary items - the things not needed to house, feed and clothe himself or herself and family.

There is a detailed aide-memoire on SEES that will help you cover most foreseeable aspects of private expenditure. The programme contains a calculator to convert regular payments into annual amounts.

You should use the aide-memoire with the taxpayer’s individual circumstances in mind. This will normally be at a meeting EM3655. The template should not be given out like a questionnaire for the taxpayer to fill in.

If you approach the exercise by looking first at ‘essential� spending and then at ‘optional� expenditure you will need to have regard to the taxpayer’s apparent life style. As people become more wealthy the definition of what is ‘essential� expenditure will change. The list below covers most of the basics. The next page refers to optional spending.

Accommodation

• rent or mortgage
• water services
• council tax
• gas (mains or bottled)
• electricity
• solid fuel (for central heating or open fires) or central heating oil
• insurance - structural, contents
• repairs and redecoration (including extensions, new kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, central heating, double glazing, conservatory)
• furniture
• electrical equipment: kitchen (cooker, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washing machine, tumble-dryer, microwave, water softener etc)
• electrical equipment: general (vacuum cleaner, iron, lighting etc)
• crockery, cutlery, glassware
• ornaments
• carpets
• curtains, blinds
• bedding
• domestic help, window cleaner etc.
• luxury items (sauna, solarium, billiard room etc).

Garden

• equipment (tools, pots, lawnmower, raker etc)
• repairs and improvements (fencing, drive, patio, swimming pool, tennis court, barbecue, shed, greenhouse)
• garden furniture
• trees, shrubs, plants, seeds, bulbs
• garden help

Food

• shopping
• eating out
• take-away meals
• meals at work
• drink and entertaining
• confectionery

Personal

• clothing (work and leisure)
• cosmetics, toiletries etc
• cigarettes and tobacco
• private health insurance or payments, including glasses
• NHS payments (prescriptions and dentist)
• NIC
• Income Tax (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
• jewellery (including watches)
• presents
• life insurance
• newspapers and magazines
• hairdressing, manicure, pedicure
• donations to charity/church