Reply to: Ltd Co buying a caravan?

[TheFaQQer]

Hi thanks for your reply

yes sorry re-phrase the question.
do i buy it from the company at its written down value on the company asset register
A value that i assign to it or do i have to get it valued and pay market value?

You do the same as you would with any company asset - as they say, the size of the asset doesn't matter (or something like that).

[northernladyuk]

Yes, not sure that would stand up to an investigation? It would be in the dogs name and he would say anything for a treat....

Rename your company after the dog or vice versa. Gives you a defensible fall back position in case of investigation.

In seriousness how much time do you want to spend trying to defend this to the inspector? Because I reckon the inspector will bring a trainee along, so that the trainee has a good story to tell at their retirement bash.

[northernladuk]

Thanks for your reply

True, i will be using the caravan for a 1/2 week holiday each year, however that represents less than 4% of its total usage per year so the effective BIK is less than it would be with a company car.

Retirement, dependant on when i chose I've got 10years.

Doesn't matter. You could have a company car that just sits on your drive. Just the fact it's available is enough to incur BIK. Percentage is irrelevant.

That said we are not accountants. Speak to yours or give HMRC a ring and see what they say.

You expect to be doing that gig for 10 years?

[DizzyD]

Put it in your cat's name and pay rent (cash) to your cat.

Yes, not sure that would stand up to an investigation? It would be in the dogs name and he would say anything for a treat....

[DizzyD]

Same way you get any asset out of the company - you pay the value of the item to the company and buy it.

Hi thanks for your reply

yes sorry re-phrase the question.
do i buy it from the company at its written down value on the company asset register
A value that i assign to it or do i have to get it valued and pay market value?

[DizzyD]

You will be using the caravan personally so it's not wholly and exclusively so the BIK. It's not a company asset.
Speak to your accountant.

When you retire? How long have you and do you expect to be working for this gig?

Thanks for your reply

True, i will be using the caravan for a 1/2 week holiday each year, however that represents less than 4% of its total usage per year so the effective BIK is less than it would be with a company car.

Retirement, dependant on when i chose I've got 10years.

[TheFaQQer]

Also when i retire how do i get the asset out of the company and into my personal ownership?

Same way you get any asset out of the company - you pay the value of the item to the company and buy it.

[Paddy]

I am a contractor working for a national telecoms and broadcast company, my role is nationwide and involves me staying away from home for weeks at a time at different locations each week.

For the last year i have been using our old caravan and claiming the touring site fees, however i have just purchased a brand new £23,000 caravan on finance and am wondering the best way to play this.

If the company was to own it as an asset then presumably i would get tax relief of some kind on the purchase cost and the company absorbs the losses due to depreciation. Or am i able (as a director) to rent it to the company when i stay away?

Also when i retire how do i get the asset out of the company and into my personal ownership?

VAT, currently we are within £5000 of the required registration limit, if this is claimable i assume now is the time to register?

Your views would be appreciated

Put it in your cat's name and pay rent (cash) to your cat.

[northernladuk]

You will be using the caravan personally so it's not wholly and exclusively so the BIK. It's not a company asset.
Speak to your accountant.

When you retire? How long have you and do you expect to be working for this gig?

[DizzyD]

Same topic (slight twist)

I am a contractor working for a national telecoms and broadcast company, my role is nationwide and involves me staying away from home for weeks at a time at different locations each week.

For the last year i have been using our old caravan and claiming the touring site fees, however i have just purchased a brand new £23,000 caravan on finance and am wondering the best way to play this.

If the company was to own it as an asset then presumably i would get tax relief of some kind on the purchase cost and the company absorbs the losses due to depreciation. Or am i able (as a director) to rent it to the company when i stay away?

Also when i retire how do i get the asset out of the company and into my personal ownership?

VAT, currently we are within £5000 of the required registration limit, if this is claimable i assume now is the time to register?

Your views would be appreciated

[kermitt]

I had considered a pickup before when on a previous contract but using one means a 2 hour commute each way which would be almost 20 hours a week spent on the motorway doing 1000 miles average. Didn't really fancy that much.

If I lived closer to work then I probably would go ahead with one instead of renting but as I said I need to save a lot of money towards a mortgage deposit so that we can move.

[zamzummim]

I know you can get a pick-up truck through the business, not sure about a caravan (static or not)

Pickup Truck Tax Explained

worth investigating.

[minsky1]

While working on a contract up at BAe, I bought a tourer and lived in it for about 8 months on a site. It was ok - up until the weather turned. Enough to test anyone's mettle. Wouldnt recommend it to anyone to be honest. Did save quite a bit over hotels but the hassle wasnt worth it. The sites are only open for about 8-10 months of the year, so you then you have to put the van into storage and go back to hotels.

Did consider having a static up there, but its a very long term commitment - your contracted into an agreement (12 years the norm). Good sites charge ground fees of around 3-3.5k per year, plus a decent caravan with dg and central heating will set you back at least 25k. Then youve got to cough up for gas and elec. As per tourer sites, they close for a few months of the year, and your back to hotels.

Having said that I have since bought one for family use 6 years back, and get good use out of it. Site we're on is really good and has good entertainment for the kids and is next to the beach.

Nothing to stop you from buying one through the company, some owners on the site have a few vans and let them out through the park and privately. Make a few quid out of it but nothing spectacular.

Taking everything into consideration its cheaper to rent a bedsit or houseshare.

[Paddy]

I don''t know about statics but I did buy a tourer on the company for use when away on contracts -got all the VAT back but did have to pay a nominal amount for benefit in kind for personal use.
I joined the caravan club for access to their sites (some are surprisingly close to city centres) and use a bike to do the daily commute which is great in the summer

One snag is the limit of 28days on a lot of sites so unless you have a friendly warden (although some site have 'seasonal pitches' )you may have to move between sites each month

Bonus is if you have young kids (pre school) then they can come and stay

Is that a caravan or motorhome?

[Benny]

Unfortunately I have a long commute to fulfill my contract so generally stay away from home. I have rented in the past but am currently using a mixture of hotels and b&b's. I have been looking at renting again but because there are so many people doing the same thing the rental prices for somewhere of good quality, with parking and within a reasonable distance to work costs circa £1000 p.c.m

Now bearing in mind that if this is paid by myself or my Ltd I will never see this money again I was thinking that I could purchase a large static caravan at a popular holiday location within 10 miles of work and simply use that during the week. Not being into this sort of thing but I would imagine that something like this would be £20k?? but its reasonable to expect that it could be paid off quickly using Ltd Co funds and therefore would have something to show for the expense albeit this would remain a company asset.

Is this soemthing that is actually feasible and has anybody on here done it or considered it before?

The reason I am suggesting this is that I am franticall trying to save towards a sufficient house deposit so that I can relocate within the next 24 months but property in this area is stupidly expensive.

I don''t know about statics but I did buy a tourer on the company for use when away on contracts -got all the VAT back but did have to pay a nominal amount for benefit in kind for personal use.
I joined the caravan club for access to their sites (some are surprisingly close to city centres) and use a bike to do the daily commute which is great in the summer

One snag is the limit of 28days on a lot of sites so unless you have a friendly warden (although some site have 'seasonal pitches' )you may have to move between sites each month

Bonus is if you have young kids (pre school) then they can come and stay