Legal question
 

At the moment I work as a telecomms engineer, I am based from home and I am supplied with a company car (which can be used for personal use).

All milage that is used for company business is submitted weekly on an expense form and is billed at x pence per mile.

However, in the past 7 weeks I have noticed I am well and truely out of pocket so I am actualy paying to go to work!

Do I have any sort of case here or am I just p1ss1ng in the wind.

Cheers
Dave:flame:

40 p per mile is what i claim. Does not included traveling to and from work.

If the job is a ten mile trip from work but only a 2 mile trip from home, put it on the expense form that you went to work first to get some tools etc then on to the job, works for me.





[Edited on 13-9-2005 by Mello-Yellow]

This is a company car so we don't pay for anything (road tax, insurance, service, mot) except our personal miles.

that's an odd system that you have Dave? Most employees get to claim x pence per mile if they are using their own car for business use (which is higher than just fuel cost as it is supposed to cover wear and tear as well).

I'm guessing the main issue is that for ease of calculation your company is paying out x as an approximation for the price of petrol and that the recent rises means this is not covered. You should probably raise it to the accounting department - I doubt it would be career-threatening to do this.

As there is an element of personal use you will also be taxed as a benefit in kind (ie a taxable perk of the job). The only way around this is to use it only for business use (even a commute will count as "personal" and it must be kept at business premises outside of working hours).

I'm guessing there is no choice of company car use or cash?

Bit more detail here.
http://www.bizhelp24.com/accounting/...any_cars.shtml

good luck! Chi

Dont talk to me about company cars,my company gave me a BMW 320D for the sake of company image,i also now have to pay for my private mileage(thanks Gordon Brown) but also have a negative tax code thanks to the fact that i get taxed on the retail price of the car(which is why This lot in power dont mind that cars are more expensive in the U K ) plus 3% as diesels are not emision frendly.Now before you all say that its cheaper than buying and running your own car let me say that i couldn't do my job without it,i do about 40.000 work related miles per annum(which company do you know go around and buy expensive cars for no reason) and i dont need a bl**dy car anyway.

Yep,i've had my rant now,thanks.

Chicken

I don't commute to work as I work from home.

We initially pay for a tank of fuel and charge back 13 pence per mile for business miles, so any personal mileage comes out of our pocket. The reason it is only 13 pence is because we don't have to pay any other running costs of the vehicle.

No we don't get a chose of vehicle, they try to have all engineers driving the same thing, for a proffesional look!!!

Cheers Mate

I had this years ago, the cars we were driving would only do about 25 to the gallon and we could claim 10 or 11p per mile, so you ended up paying towards your business mileage also.

Funny how that car kept breaking down:rolleye: but saying that when it was OK the journey's suddenly gained a few miles here and there too :rolleye:

One guy went as far as to disconnect the speedo at weekends put a 12v motor on and actually add miles so he could claim them back

:o

A back of an envelope calculation says that if petrol is 95p/litre and you get more than 27.6 mpg then you are better off. I guess a lot of it depends on the kind of vehicle and driving that you are doing.

The 13p/mile has been decided by your company as the "right" amount to pay - some will get a little benefit, others lose out a little. If you think the policy is wrong you have every right to raise the issue to the policymaker. Your case will carry more weight if it is backed up by documented evidence as well as support from other employees in a similar position.

Like Stu though, make sure that you aren't being stung on the tax @ retail price of the car. You can double check with a tax accountant (oh Beancounter, where are you?) but I remember a loophole allowing you to get off if it's classed as a van?

We are being stung on the tax, Freelander TD4 retailed at £20k.
Cheers for that Chicken.

interesting to see what your company pays per mile Dave.

We pay 40p per mile for own car, and 20p per mile for company car (non commuting of course)
If I cant/wont use a pool car then I'm well in for pennies, cos I'll either use my bike - or my smart - depending on location/meeting type etc.

How does this compare with others?:puzzled:

C:)

I need to come and work for you then:D

You can claim the difference (ie 40-13p) from your tax return each year. Goto the Inland Revenue to find out how to get a tax rebate on this. There's calculations and a table for petrol rates etc. All you need to do is list all the journeys, the distance, the rate you got paid and the difference (on a spreadsheet).

I do this every year. In fact I think you can back date it upto 6 years past so if you've got all the records you can claim the difference back.

How does that work on a company owned vehicle??

Here I am Chi

Although no tax expert I do happen to know that the Inland Revenue changed the fuel rates on 1st July, in response to rising fuel costs. They are now :-

up to 1400cc petrol 10p, diesel 9p
1401 to 2000 petrol 12p, diesel 9p
over 2000cc petrol 16p, diesel 13p

So you may have a case, Dave, depending on your motor.

The Revenue have also said they'll review the rates again if fuel rises by 10% (from whatever it was the last time they looked at it).

Sorry, just checked - that's for your own vechile for company use. Sorry. Why doesn't your company give you a petrol card?

Don't want to get taxed on that either:sniff:

2000cc diesel 4x4!!!!!!

sorry, now looks likely that I'll be looking for a job when I come back from hols:(

But am trying to be optimistic:)

:(

Dave, if you're charging 13p a mile, the Revenue advises only 9p a mile (this is based on an assumed 45.6mpg, believe it or not).

As I see it, Dave, you may be liable to a tax charge on 4p a mile (unless your company is prepared to cover this for you).

BUGGER!!!!!!!!!!

So although the company does not pay enough to cover the fuel charges and I'm out of pocket, I could also get taxed!

The hits just keep coming. :flame:

Cheers for all your advise guys:cool:

Dave, how you might be expected to get an average 45.6mpg out of a TD4 Freelander I simply can't imagine.

I own my car well BMW finance do and I charge the company for each mile travelled. Does anyone else do that and if so what do you get paid per mile.

Vans are much simpler. Company van, minimal private usage, parked at home = £500 taxable value p.a., or roughly £130 tax p.a. (a tenner a month)

From next year, no tax at all on vans taken home (due to safety/security of vehicle) PROVIDED : no shopping except stopping for basics, 2 tip runs p.a. etc etc

So, wahey - I'm better off even if it is only a tenner a month

Dave

I think whatever we do wont make a difference unless it starts to affect the "management" nothing will change

I do like the idea of :

One guy went as far as to disconnect the speedo at weekends put a 12v motor on and actually add miles so he could claim them back

i have a cunning plan!!:lol::lol:

I have to get to work in m y own car, paying for my own fuel :(

If having a company car is so bad.........send it back! try using your own!

Im sure they will give you money instead!