Use of caravan / motorhome as allowable expense ?

[Boo]

Hi,

I've a prospect of a contract away and was thinking of buying a motorhome or caravan instead of staying in B&Bs this time.

I would obviously be able to claim mileage for a MH in the normal way but I came across a remark by a contractor elsewhere on the web that said he'd claimed for use of it whilst staying away on a contract and I need to know if that is legit ? I assume it would be possible to claim caravan/MH pitch fees, but could I charge caravan/MH itself out to Myco as a legitimate expense ?

Anyone done this and got the lowdown ?

Thanks,

Boo

[malvolio]

Hi,

I've a prospect of a contract away and was thinking of buying a motorhome or caravan instead of staying in B&Bs this time.

I would obviously be able to claim mileage for a MH in the normal way but I came across a remark by a contractor elsewhere on the web that said he'd claimed for use of it whilst staying away on a contract and I need to know if that is legit ? I assume it would be possible to claim caravan/MH pitch fees, but could I charge caravan/MH itself out to Myco as a legitimate expense ?

Anyone done this and got the lowdown ?

Thanks,

Boo

I remember this being asked a while back and not getting a firm answer. The problem is duality of purpose: a motorhome is far more likely to be used for personal use at the weekend than a serviced flat in the middle of Docklands for example. I can't see mileage and parking being an issue, since they are provable business expenses, but the van itself probably not.

However, I should wait for the accoutnants to turn up!

[Sockpuppet]

I'd say it should be possible but you'd have to do a lot to avoid the company car tax on it.

You could keep a mileage record on the MH. The mileage as at when you bought it.

If you then accounted for every single mile that the motor home did as business expense then you could possibly claim it. Now expensing it and then using it even for a weekend away would be a no no.

But mostly what malvolio said.

[northernladuk]

Couple of threads on this exact topic below...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mo...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[eek]

Couple of threads on this exact topic below...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=mo...hrome&ie=UTF-8

From last year

I bought a motorhome through the company on February. Before I did, I had a long conversation, recorded, with Hector whom, essentially, wanted to know if it would save the company money. As long as you use it solely for business, and any personal use is incidental, it is fine. Any personal usage has to be paid for at market rates (about £70 a day) and has to be recorded.

I have all of this documented and made sure I checked it out before I bought it.

As for comfort, I have a double at the back that is extremely comfortable, I have a large shower room, that I only use if I stay 'wild'. I have a 28" LED tv, and PS3 and cook all my own meals.

Prior to that, in the 6 months before, I had spent £2k a month on hotels and food.

After speaking to the tax woman, candidly, I got the impression, that if you are saving the company money, and can prove it, they are happy, as, ultimately, it means more corp tax for them.

We paid £45k after VAT. Speaking to a professional in the Motorhome field, he said that the rule of thumb is that they devalue by around 10% per year. So in 5 years, it would have lost around £20k, but that you'd save close to 20k a year on hotels etc.

Makes sense.

[BolshieBastard]

Hi,

I've a prospect of a contract away and was thinking of buying a motorhome or caravan instead of staying in B&Bs this time.

I would obviously be able to claim mileage for a MH in the normal way but I came across a remark by a contractor elsewhere on the web that said he'd claimed for use of it whilst staying away on a contract and I need to know if that is legit ? I assume it would be possible to claim caravan/MH pitch fees, but could I charge caravan/MH itself out to Myco as a legitimate expense ?

Anyone done this and got the lowdown ?

Thanks,

Boo

Right, so let me get this straight. You're going to spend 8 to 10 grand (at least) buying a motorhome plus all the increased fuel costs, insurance, VED, servicing and pitch fees (if you can find one that isnt fully booked near to where you will be working) to save yourself a few grand on B&B expense for the duration of a contract?

I think I see a flaw with your cunning plan.

[Boo]

Right, so let me get this straight. You're going to spend 8 to 10 grand (at least) buying a motorhome plus all the increased fuel costs, insurance, VED, servicing and pitch fees (if you can find one that isnt fully booked near to where you will be working) to save yourself a few grand on B&B expense for the duration of a contract?

I think I see a flaw with your cunning plan.

Well, you don't say what that flaw is ? I do the sums as follows :

Motorhome £10k pa (absolute tops - that's my limit)
Service & Duty £ 1k pa (ish)
Insurance £ 500 pa (but I'd hope to get a low mileage discount on that when paired with my car)

Mileage is allowable at 25p mile assuming main car does the long journeys and motorhome is parked up most of the time. Say 5k mile pa = £1250 back to me plus diesel costs of £900.

I am going for a motorhome specifically so as to avoid pitch fees. Plan is to park it at the premises of the client or else in the vicinity of the industrial estate which I have heard is viable from people who've done it.

So pa cost assuming total depreciation in 1 year (extreme to say the least) is 11500 - 1250 + 900 = £11,150.

Cost of Premier Inn in town where I am working = £240 pw = £11,520 in one 48 week year.

So I make the sums work out quite sensible really. And if the depreciation is over 4 years instead of 1 year then that makes the sums still quite reasonable for contracts away totalling 3 months a year which is about right I would say.


But my reasons for wanting to stay in a motorhome have noting to do with costs and in any case that was not my question.

My question was : Can I charge a caravan/MH that I own personally out to Myco as a legitimate business expense for those times that I am staying away from home on a contract ?


Boo

[GillsMan]

The problem might be that you are comparing your motor home cost with the cost of staying in a hotel for 48 weeks in a year. With holidays, breaks between contracts and other time off, that might not be a fair comparison. I take it you're not intending to contract at clients in the middle of London also?

Don't think I'd want to stay on client site, parked up in my motor home for just so many reasons. You literally live and work in the same place, people can grab you at any time. WFH is unlikely. It's a bit weird, and so on.


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[Boo]

The problem might be that you are comparing your motor home cost with the cost of staying in a hotel for 48 weeks in a year.

No, I made the MH look as expensive as possible by depreciating it to zero over one year then compared that to the cost of staying in a hotel .

Don't think I'd want to stay on client site, parked up in my motor home for just so many reasons. You literally live and work in the same place, people can grab you at any time. WFH is unlikely. It's a bit weird, and so on.

I agree there may be a downside but I normally am the first into work and the last out anyway so am used to people grabbing me anytime. I do restrict my clients to a 4 day week though...

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Why did I need to know that ?

Boo2

[TheFaQQer]

Motorhome £10k pa (absolute tops - that's my limit)

You aren't going to get much for that money. We paid more than that for our T4 two years ago.

I am going for a motorhome specifically so as to avoid pitch fees. Plan is to park it at the premises of the client or else in the vicinity of the industrial estate which I have heard is viable from people who've done it.

Unless you are planning on running a power cable into the client building, then you're going to need a particularly powerful leisure battery to run anything for any meaningful time period. For example, unless you are going to run your three way fridge off the gas, you'll deaden a standard sized leisure battery in a few hours.

Also, you might want to think about where you are going to be washing / showering? If you are planning to cook in the motorhome, then where are you going to do the washing up? If you need to be wearing something smart for work, then make sure you have somewhere to hang your clothes to keep them smart.

And if the depreciation is over 4 years instead of 1 year then that makes the sums still quite reasonable for contracts away totalling 3 months a year which is about right I would say.

Motorhome depreciation is going to be less than that - they hold their value for a long time.