for the last 8 months, i’ve probably saved over 1,000 pounds cab money for my company, and they are not keen to pay me some mileage allowance, i.e., 20p/mile, because, as they said, i commute on bike everyday, so it is a bit tricky to pay me. If i use public transport on normal working days, and only use bike on late shifts, then i am qualified for mileage subsidy.
today i made the decision to use public transport for my late shifts, and use company cab on my way back. Would you do it differently as a proper biker?
Also keep a log of your jouney times. I bet the public transport option costs them a shed load more once they factor in your salary.
20p a mile? I don’t think so. Customs and revenue have a table somewhere (I can’t be ar*ed to visit another crappy .gov.uk web site) that shows what they consider to be mileage reimbursement for different vehicles. Get more and they tax the lot!
From bad memory, 20p a mile sounds like a moped, perhaps a 125cc.
Just checked, it is 24p/mile for motorcyle, regardless of engine size, it is for the staff who are eligible for a company car, but who receive a cash allowance or pension instead of a carThey said the official Inland Revenue rates are as following, which apply regardless of engine size:
Miles per tax year Car Motorcycle Bicycle
Up to 10,000 miles 40p 24p 20p
Over 10,000 miles 25p 24p 20p
for 18 miles single journey, i can get just over £4 for a bike journey, but the company has to pay over £30 for a cab
Bicycle is the obvious earner. Compare costs of running one of those against a modern motorcycle.
Can’t believe that all size bike get the same allowance. It was once graded into 3 or 4 engine size bands.
Anyway, 24p/mile is the rate.
The bringing it in anyway because you commute by bike is tosh.
I get paid to bring my bike in so that it’s available for me to use when needed. I also get a “free”, secure parking space. I also get mileage payments when I use the bike for work duty. (Then I get taxed on the lot.)
Reason for this package? Because my tight fisted employer doesn’t have to lose my £65/hour charge out earning rate while I sit on a bus. It’s good business sense.
I have work insurance on my bike, as we have 3 offices, and to commute to all of them you need the “business” insurance. The difference was 20 quid, or maybe less, not worth worry about anyway.
You will only pay tax on the mileage claimed if it is deemed to be a perk, or you have to travel say 3 days in a row, or you do over 40k business miles a year.
Commuting’s not counted as business travel as far as I’m aware so it would count as a perk that you’d get taxed for if they paid you for it I think… If you’re travelling from your office to a customer then that would count as business mileage.
Correct, commuting to and from your normal place of work is only communting, and not counted as business mileage, but if you go to any other office, it is.
Yep, 24p/m is exactly what I get when I use the bike for anything work-related other than commuting. Business Class 1 (what you need to have to cover riding to work any where other than normal location) was no extra premium. Plus you have to subtract your daily normal mileage.
Bbsmonk what you suggest seems clearly in your employers interest, I would be surprised if there is no flexibility in their policy to allow this ie a claiming of mileage on a trip by trip basis. If there is not then I suggest keeping a tally, as suggested above, of how much savings would have been made over a period of time and submit that as a business case to your head of payroll. Might be wise to get your line management to support it.
We are certainly allowed to do this where I work subject to us having appropriate insurance in place. When I return to week next week (currently on leave) I will ask our HR people for advice as they sit close to where I am, and pass that on to you in case it is of any help.
Have a look at the Company’s terms of employment, and/or the expenses policy. Even if your company is an SME it should have one of these - not sure if it is law.
The mileage rates that are quoted above are from the Inland Revenue, and these are the ones that your company should be using. If they are not, then the rates should be higher, and not lower.
thanks, i asked my line manager to ask HR, and got a we-do-not-give-a-**** response, things would be a lot easier and more flexible in small companies.
As noted above, commuting to and from a regular place of employment is not business mileage according to the Inland Revenue; therefore if your company pays you mileage, cab fares, buys you a season ticket on the rail, etc., then they are in fact adding to your salary and you should be taxed on it - the taxman does not see commuting as an allowable expense.
If you undertake any buisness mileage (for example travelling to a customer) in your own vehicle, you are entitled to claim tax relief on the rates quoted in the previous post. However, your company DO NOT have to pay exactly this rate. My company pays 25p per mile for car journeys, for example, even though the relief is actually 40p for the first 10,000 miles. My previous employer only paid 18p per mile.
At the end of the tax year (March) you can then work out how many miles you did in total and what the total relief you should be allowed is. You then deduct what your employer paid you as expenses. If they paid you less than the maximum entitlement, you can follow the instructions at www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/relief-mileage.htm to claim the difference direct from the tax man.
I hope this is clear - I’ve been doing this for several years and in some years my additional refund from the taxman has been hundreds of pounds so it is definitely worth doing. PM me if I can help any further.
hang on a sodding minute they pay you 20p a mile for a push bike and 24p for a motorcycle!! WTF so they assume the wear and tear on a motorcycle is only 4p per mile more!!!and also think were onto a winner here, so if I ride to work instead of motorcycle see below…229 days working a year at 20p per milelets say on a push bike £200 a year for partsI would actually make an extra £807.60 a year in my pocket…
Stuff that… the correct thing to do is claim at car rates. I personally have never ridden a motorcycle on any business mileage, not ever, honest, Mr Inland Revenue. You may think you saw me carrying a helmet and turning up in leathers while I was on site but that was a figment of your imagination. In fact I don’t even own a motorcycle, bicycle, feet or anything at all except a nice big 40p-per-mile motor car.
:Whistling:
Actually, it’s even worse than that. Cyclists get 20p, motorcyclists 24p. So not only does a motorcycle only cost an extra 4p wear and tear, but that 4p HAS TO COVER PETROL TOO!
