Can I claim mileage (transport) if travel by public transport

[malvolio]

Well it depends doesn't it... your car is going to depreciate anyway. Should mileage cover all the costs of running a car, when it is not required to only have business use?

Ermm, yes, actually...

It's to cover the business proporertion of fuel, servicing, insurance, replacements like tyres and wiper blades, depreciation and lost interest on the capital you've laid out to buy it. I read someherre that the average 1.6 family car now costs around 52ppm.

[escapeUK]

Though even now 40p is quite reasonable IMO... it's more the case that 8 years ago these rates were a money tree.

Not really. If you consider the money in the company is yours and would be paid as dividends if not paid as mileage claim. Then in actual fact you are only saving the amount of the claim that would have been tax had it been paid as dividend.

Despite having a very efficient car (56mpg) I find this amount is less than the cost of the diesel.

[Scrag Meister]

Not really. If you consider the money in the company is yours and would be paid as dividends if not paid as mileage claim. Then in actual fact you are only saving the amount of the claim that would have been tax had it been paid as dividend.

Despite having a very efficient car (56mpg) I find this amount is less than the cost of the diesel.

What??? 56 * 40p = £22. Where are you buying your fuel??

[Wanderer]

Well it depends doesn't it... your car is going to depreciate anyway. Should mileage cover all the costs of running a car, when it is not required to only have business use?

Absolutely. If you do 10,000 private miles and 10,000 business miles then the extra mileage is going to devalue your vehicle faster, not to mention the extra servicing, insurance costs, tyres etc and the business should cover that cost.

[VectraMan]

It costs me £36 per day in petrol to get to client co in my S2000 twice a week, but the expense is ~£80. Which no matter how you look at it is a lot more, even in a silly sports car. But of course I only really get 21% of the £80.

When I did my first gig (coincidentally with the same client I'm working for now), I was with an umbrella, and with the saving on the 40% tax+EENI+ERNI , 40p per mile meant I was slightly better off driving 200 miles a day than if the client had been next door.

BTW you only need receipts to reclaim VAT, unless I've been doing it wrong for 5 years.

[Lumiere]

BTW you only need receipts to reclaim VAT, unless I've been doing it wrong for 5 years.

WHS

[Craig@Clarity]

BTW you only need receipts to reclaim VAT, unless I've been doing it wrong for 5 years.

You should keep receipts even if you don't claim VAT back from HMRC as it is evidence that your incurred the expense in the first place.

[TykeMerc]

BTW you only need receipts to reclaim VAT, unless I've been doing it wrong for 5 years.

If you got a Tax inspection (not VAT, although relevant for that too) then you could be asked to produce fuel receipts to support your mileage log and expense claims.

[VectraMan]

You should keep receipts even if you don't claim VAT back from HMRC as it is evidence that your incurred the expense in the first place.

But as we've been saying the rate is per mile. Evidence of buying petrol doesn't prove you did the mileage.

Records you must keep
You need to keep records of dates, mileage and details of all work journeys. Your employer needs this information to make expenses payments to you. You also need them to get any Mileage Allowance Relief.

I'm happy to follow HMRC's advice.

[Craig@Clarity]

But as we've been saying the rate is per mile. Evidence of buying petrol doesn't prove you did the mileage.



I'm happy to follow HMRC's advice.

You're spot on. Best way to log mileage is to keep a simple log. Receipts wise, I was referring to all other expenses.

Keeping petrol receipts to cover the VAT is only really relevant if you are not on the flat rate VAT scheme. On the standard rate scheme, you can claim back a small percentage of VAT on mileage.