Sell my electric bicycles to my business for commuting

[GillsMan]

So now the question is... is it better to have 2 electric bikes (of £1000 each) and used exclusively for business..
or shall I get a business scooter of £6000 and be sure I won't have any issue with HMRC?

Christ, what part of this is so difficult for you to understand. Selling your own company two of the electric bikes you own is taking the piss. You're a one-man band I assume? And you think HMRC are going to look at the fact that you have sold your own business two electric bikes (should they investigate of course, which is low risk) and think "oh that's reasonable"??

Your argument for wanting to sell two to your own business is, frankly, nonsense.

[jamesbrown]

Yeah I've been far less than 2 years in london anyway. It may change later but not now.

I've been looking around for scooter as I was thinking it may be more convenient.

Here is a thread I've found:
http://forums.contractoruk.com/accou...h-company.html

if the company buy a scooter and as long as it is used exclusively for business purpose it can be 100% deducted.

So if I buy a £6000 electric scooter all repairs and purchase cost should be corporation tax free.

So now the question is... is it better to have 2 electric bikes (of £1000 each) and used exclusively for business..
or shall I get a business scooter of £6000 and be sure I won't have any issue with HMRC?

You've been an excellent sockie, but it's time to head back to mumsnet.

[cwah]

Ok, let see what fraud I would do if my business has 1, 2 or 10 bike that would be used exclusively for business purpose.

Whould that be benefit in kind? No because it's not used for personal reason.

Would that be tax avoidance? Again no because it's business used exclusively.

So what fault I am doing, if my business is having 2 bikes just for business use?

[GillsMan]

Ok, let see what fraud I would do if my business has 1, 2 or 10 bike that would be used exclusively for business purpose.

Whould that be benefit in kind? No because it's not used for personal reason.

Would that be tax avoidance? Again no because it's business used exclusively.

So what fault I am doing, if my business is having 2 bikes just for business use?

This has been explained over and over again. But one more time, for the cheap seats:

There is nothing wrong with putting a bike through. Putting any more through is taking the piss, though. There's only one of you. Your argument for needing two electric bikes holds absolutely no weight. If you wake up one morning and find that your piece of crap bike has fallen apart yet again, you have alternatives. You live in London fgs, get the Tube, order a taxi, use a real bike, catch a bus, walk, all are viable alternatives and cheaper. If your bike is so unreliable that you could end up spending more than the cost of the bike on taxi fares then maybe you should question why your business would want to invest in such an unreliable contraption (I have a friend who owns an electric bike - believe me, they can be a solid investment if you buy the right one).

If your argument is that you might be late because you wake up and find that magically your bike has stopped working overnight, then the counter argument would be you shouldn't leave it until the last minute to check your bike if your bikes are so unreliable you somehow need 5 of them.

Remember, you're a one-man band. What's reasonable for a company of multiple employees is not necessarily the same as for companies of one person. And I speak with some authority on the subject, having transitioned from a one-man company to a company of 6 (5 full time permie employees and me).

But I'm wasting my breath aren't I? You weren't looking for advice here. You were looking for people to justify your decision, and you're not going to listen to reason. So go ahead, put all 5 bikes on the company books for all I care. I do hope you end up with an HMRC investigation though. And if I'm ever lucky enough to work on a project where I hear about some contractor riding his electric bikes (plural) to work, I'll be sure to place a call with HMRC. Have a great day.

[TheFaQQer]

So what fault I am doing, if my business is having 2 bikes just for business use?

Personally, I wouldn't stop at two bikes - you have five, but what if they all suffer from a manufacturer's fault? You'd need more than that, just to make sure you can still get to work. I've had a quick Google around this, and whilst I can't see any specific guidance on it, the general advice seems to be that seven is the magic number - that way, you can have one for every day of the week, including any weekend work that you might have to do.

I'm torn on the best approach to take, though - part of me says get ones from the same manufacturer so that the parts can be swapped between bikes, but if there is a fault then you're scuppered and would need to buy more bikes. So it's probably making sure you get different bikes from different manufacturers - if you can't do that, then at the very least make sure you buy from a wide range of vendors so the likelihood of them coming from the same batch is reduced. That's what I do with hard drives.

Good luck, and enjoy your cycle to work

[Taita]

None of this will wash with the taxman. You may get away with a single bicycle if it meets the definition in the regulations, but that's it.

How is it possible that 5k worth of bikes plus high maintenance and power costs are cheaper than using the tube?

How would having 2,3 or 4 reserve bikes help your plight if you got a puncture on the way to work? You would be better chaining it to a lamp post and going by bus, tube for the rest of the journey. It would be cheaper in terms of lost revenue if you are hourly paid than walking the bike back home, swapping it out and starting over.

Why is your plan any better/cheaper than buying a £150 bike from Halfords and just plain old cycling like anyone else has to do. I struggle to see the benefits unless you are simply looking to write off the costs of an expensive hobby tax efficently.

Nail on head......several times! I can just see the look on Hector's face when you put the case to him!

[cwah]

I understand it's going over what is considered as standard.

But if I have:
- 2 bikes used exclusively for commuting to work.
- And my 3 others are kept personal for non work related.

As bicycles are eligible for allowance. What is my wrong? If HMRC find these 2 bicycles, and do investigation. What is my wrong if they are used only to go to work?

Apology to insist, but can it be considered as tax evasion or benefit in kind if it's only used for business purpose?

[jjdarg]

I suppose you can do what you want, as my accountant admonishes me at times, but you have to be prepared to defend it to the taxman. The burden of proof is on you, not the taxman, if he finds something you are doing questionable.

And if it looks questionable to a bunch of anonymous "dodgy contractors"(tm), then chances are it will be questionable to the taxman.

[GillsMan]

I understand it's going over what is considered as standard.

But if I have:
- 2 bikes used exclusively for commuting to work.
- And my 3 others are kept personal for non work related.

As bicycles are eligible for allowance. What is my wrong? If HMRC find these 2 bicycles, and do investigation. What is my wrong if they are used only to go to work?

Apology to insist, but can it be considered as tax evasion or benefit in kind if it's only used for business purpose?

That's right, completely ignore my post which explains in detail what is wrong. Keep asking the same question until you hear the answer you want to hear. Jesus Christ, and people like this actually manage to attract contractor earnings?!

[tractor]

...

Time to move this to General