Direct Payments Expenses Help?

burnsguitarman

Hi, I have recently become a personal carer,(10hrs a week) to a young person (15yr old). I know this is funded by the direct payment scheme, however I was wondering if I am able to claim back by way of tax allowances, any expenses I incur as a result of my position? I mainly take the boy out after school, on social activities. The thing is it's costing me a fortune! If we go out to eat (we usually do) I can't take him in without me having something as well, I have had to add business use to my car insurance, and obviously there are the petrol costs, I would like to take him many places, but would all involve costs on my part. Am I able to claim anything as essential expenses?

Js_Other_Half

His parents/guardians should pay for expenses directly incurred?

burnsguitarman

Hi, would they get funding to cover this, or will they be paying this themselves? Sorry, for the basic questions, but I can't find any info which is directed at the "personal assistants". I don't want to spend more than they can afford.

justlikethat_2

Just a beginner as far as direct payments myself however from what I understand........

Direct payments are awarded for a certain number of hours of care, the hourly rate which is then paid is supposed to cover carers wages and travel expenses but do not cover things like the costs of activities the carer might be helping the person to take part in. In our area the rate is around £11ish.

Are you self employed or employed directly by the person getting the payments? Self employed means the amount you get has to cover everything including insurance, wages, travel expenses, national insurance etc........ If you are employed directly then you should get an hourly rate plus a mileage rate (varies depending on what they are willing to offer). This mileage rate should be enough to make allowance for increased insurance costs as well as petrol and some wear and tear. They will then be responsible for NI, sick pay, insurance etc.

The eating out issue is a pain, as far as I have been told the carers meal is not accepted as an expense that can be covered by direct payments. This seems stupid and I might be wrong about this (hope I am) but as I say I am only learning!!!!!!

justlikethat_2

Just another thought about social activities and their costs. Have you looked at other threads which discuss 'carer goes free' activities. There is a national scheme for most cinemas and there may be other local schemes. Our council offers a free PLUS ONE CARD which gives free carer admittance to lots of places.

burnsguitarman

Thanks for the advice, I am classed as an employee, and as such my employer will pay tax etc, this is a 2nd job so will be subject to tax even though I am only paid £7 per hour.

I have looked into cinema's, swimming etc, and the concessions available. At the moment I am picking him up and taking him home a round trip of 14 miles, so by the time I have bought a drink and paid for fuel, unless I can claim extra on top, dosen't seem worth doing! I will make enquiries regarding expenses I think.

jetcat

burnsguitarman wrote: »

Hi, I have recently become a personal carer,(10hrs a week) to a young person (15yr old). I know this is funded by the direct payment scheme, however I was wondering if I am able to claim back by way of tax allowances, any expenses I incur as a result of my position? I mainly take the boy out after school, on social activities. The thing is it's costing me a fortune! If we go out to eat (we usually do) I can't take him in without me having something as well, I have had to add business use to my car insurance, and obviously there are the petrol costs, I would like to take him many places, but would all involve costs on my part. Am I able to claim anything as essential expenses?

hi, i employ a pa through direct payments, and i was told that it was my responsibility to pay for her food, entry tickets etc, though she generally refuses and pays herself - we dont go out that often!

I pay her petrol expenses, (30p per mile) but as far as i know, she isnt on business car insurance (thought didnt occur to us!) - maybe we should look into that!

This all comes out of my pocket - not direct payments, so as previous posters have suggested, the parents should be paying for you.

There are a lot of places where you can get in for free/reduced prices as a carer - though granted that doesnt help with eating out!

A thought - do you know if they are paying you direct, or using a payroll agency, as maybe you could ring the agency (if there is one) to clarify, as i know that different authorities have different rules!

burnsguitarman

Thanks for the help, I am going to have to broach this subject with his parents, as almost of our time is spent on social activities which he would not get otherwise!, and I take him striaght from school, so he needs a meal.
At the moment, I am struggling for cheap or free options.
I don't want his mum to feel I am only bothered about the money, but I can't afford to do it for nothing!
I had thought there may have been tax concessions for allowable expenses, and I really wasn't aware of how the direct payment system worked.
I suppose the fact that I know his mum quite well, makes it rather difficult when it comes to discussing money!

allydowd

burnsguitarman wrote: »

I had thought there may have been tax concessions for allowable expenses, and I really wasn't aware of how the direct payment system worked.

If you were claiming the tax back from HMRC as a self-employed person you could only get the VAT back on allowable expenses. ie 15p in every pound, not the actual amount of the expenses. And don't forget that, should you go self-employed, you would be expected to pay your own National Insurance of at least £12 per month. You would also need to do your own book-keeping and submit your tax return periodically.

As a self-employed person you would get no VAT back from the tax-man on insurance as VAT is not charged on car insurance! Also, as the VAT rate on public transport is 0% you would not get any money back for that either. If you provided food VAT is charged at 15% on many, but not all, foods you buy in the supermarket. VAT may be charged in cafes and restaurants, so you could get the 15% back on that.

daska

To claim the VAT you'd also have to be registered for VAT and charge it. Claiming expenses is different, though obviously you have to pay tax in order to claim expenses against it! HMRC publish what they consider allowable claims e.g. pence per mile for car use etc.

I would suggest that you ring HMRC and have a chat about what you can claim, contrary to popular belief they are very helpful!

burnsguitarman

Thanks Allydowd, I am not talking about VAT! but income tax! I would have thought essential expenses would have been tax deductable. I am taxed on all my earnings from this job, but not all of it is 'profit' if you see what I mean.