Cycle to Work Scheme

[Grizzlyjunk]

Buy a bike just like any other company asset

I investigated this a few months ago. According to http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainabl...2?page=1#1001:

"To take advantage of the tax and Class 1A NICs exemption, an employer can simply buy a cycle and cyclists' safety equipment, reclaim the VAT, make use of the capital allowances and loan it to an employee for qualifying journeys to work."

I.e. your company buys a bike and loans it to you. It also covers the cost of lights, helmet, locks, etc. The kit is simply a company asset, just like a photocopier, laptop or whatever.

You're meant to use the bike "mainly" to cycle to work but none of the documents I read defined what they meant by "mainly". Personally, I'm going to use a bike for whatever I want, including cycling to the station
three days a week as part of my journey to work.

The alternative, as mentioned above, is to claim 20p per mile cycled when using your personal bike to get to work. You can't claim 20p/mile when riding your company's bike.

Try working out how much you can claim for your 20p/mile, then compare to how much tax you'll save per year and make a judgement.

Any help with the maths here would be appreciated. (Help with tax maths, that is. I'd hope most of us can multiply the number of miles we cycle by 0.2.)

See the link for more info.

[threaded]

The paperwork required can be quite involved and easy to mess up. There are lots of booklets and example employment and hire contracts out there to help, but really, so much paperwork. I would go so far as to suggest that you'd be better off working a few extra hours for the client and buy the bike normally.

[BOBJ]

Minor problem. Home in Bristol, work in City of London....

Problem solved, peddle fast.

[Kyajae]

If you're not already aware of it, this is a government scheme to encourage employees to cycle to work by offering cuts on tax, NI and VAT to companies if they purchase bikes and loan or lease them to their employees.
I'm interested in whether I could register my limited company and purchase a bike under the terms of the scheme. Having had a quick read of the DTI website, it look as if this could be feasible in principle, but I wondered if anyone here has experience of doing this, and could offer advice?
Cheers
Ken
Cycle to Work Scheme

It's a great idea. I can't wait to see Tony Blair and Gordon Brown get on their bikes and **** OFF!!!

[spudgun]

has anyone actually implemented one of these schemes as a contractor working for their own Limited?

P

[Mailman]

Work has a pretty good bike scheme, can borrow up to £1500 and then pay back over the next x years (money taken before tax is taken out).

Am tempted to get me a hellbeast bike, just need to sort somewhere to park it at home though...wonder if I can move the kids out of their room?

Mailman

[boredsenseless]

Minor problem. Home in Bristol, work in City of London....

Wimp - whats wrong with cycling down the M4

[swamp]

If your Ltd buys you a bicycle then you can't claim mileage allowance for cycling to client sites. Currently this is 20p a mile, which is quite generous.

For instance last year I (legitimately) claimed £500 in cycle miles, and yet the true cost was obviously much lower (chain oil, bike depreciation, a few extra bowls of cereal...)

On a similar note companies can declare a Cycle to Work day once a month, whereby employees who cycle to work are eligible for a free company breakfast.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/ebi...yclists-03.htm

My accountant believes this is unreceipted, so you can claim an extra £5 or so each month

[malvolio]

Minor problem. Home in Bristol, work in City of London....

[The Master]

Q: Who is eligible?
A: Employers of all sizes

I think there is your answer. Go for it!

[krussell]

If you're not already aware of it, this is a government scheme to encourage employees to cycle to work by offering cuts on tax, NI and VAT to companies if they purchase bikes and loan or lease them to their employees.
I'm interested in whether I could register my limited company and purchase a bike under the terms of the scheme. Having had a quick read of the DTI website, it look as if this could be feasible in principle, but I wondered if anyone here has experience of doing this, and could offer advice?
Cheers
Ken
Cycle to Work Scheme