Mobile Phones

ch70

My company want's to reduce it's liability on various things including mobile phones. They have suggested I get a new mobile phone contract and claim back an amount each month for business usage. The problem is this:

1. Can I claim anything for the rental

2. Most contracts include inclusive minutes so working out business use is tricky

I'm not happy about the idea of taking out an 18 month phone contract in the current financial climate and possibly ending up with the liabilty of the contract if I was to lose my job etc...

What's the best option for having a business mobile these days, from both the employer and employee perspective?

fengirl_2

It would be up to your company as to whether they contribute to the rental charge and you would have to come to some agreement as to what proportion of the free time is work time.
Have you asked them to provide pay as you go phones?

ch70

No, just looking at the best options available. Ideally I need to get a phone that has email and internet access because of my job and PAYG may not be the cheapest way to do that I'm assuming.

I've tried finding the government guidliness for this but what I found doesn't seeem to mention inclusive minute bundles and ifact the wording is generally pretty ambiguous!

fengirl_2

Its' not really up to the government to come between you and your employer in relation to work expenses.

ch70

No, but as I understand it there are tax implications on how you handle business mobiles.

tyllwyd

So does that mean that by providing his own phone, the OP has to pay all the line rental himself, and can only start to claim back the cost of calls if it goes over his inclusive minutes? That doesn't sound a great deal from his side!

nomoneytoday

What about a simplicity type contract using the existing handset?

That way there is only a 1 month notice period

ch70

Seems to me the law around this is out dated and can leave the employee out off pocket by quite a few pounds if they use their own phone for business calls.

It would be fairer if there was an allowance for both the rental and calls. i.e.

Since the new mobile will be used just for business as I already have a personal phone then the rental should be covered by the employer as it is needed for the job. In addition, any business calls outside the allowances should be covered by the employer.

Unfortunately at the moment it seem that it is the reverse of this, I can not claim for rental at all and only once the allowances are used can I claim for calls.

Another great way for the government to tax individuals.

Pennywise

ch70 wrote: »

Seems to me the law around this is out dated and can leave the employee out off pocket by quite a few pounds if they use their own phone for business calls.

It would be fairer if there was an allowance for both the rental and calls. i.e.

Since the new mobile will be used just for business as I already have a personal phone then the rental should be covered by the employer as it is needed for the job. In addition, any business calls outside the allowances should be covered by the employer.

Unfortunately at the moment it seem that it is the reverse of this, I can not claim for rental at all and only once the allowances are used can I claim for calls.

Another great way for the government to tax individuals.

Tax law isn't logical and it isn't fair - never has been and never will. The best anyone can do is understand it and arrange their circumstances to make the best of it.

Not really the government's fault if your employer wants you to pay out of your own pocket for some equipment that they require you to use for your job - it's really your employer who's being unreasonable, not the government.

If you already have a mobile for personal use and you are getting a second mobile purely for business use, then as long as it is a requirement of your employment and as long as you don't use it at all for private calls, then it would be an allowable deduction for tax purposes. Your main concern will be to prove that it is for business use only which means keeping itemised invoices for both private and business mobiles so that you can demonstrate to the tax inspector that you are making your private calls on your private mobile. However, the tax inspector will quite rightly want to know why your employer isn't covering all the costs of the business mobile if they require you to have it - it is the employers responsibility to provide the tools & equipment for their employees so you may have an uphill struggle to make a successful claim - best to get as much paperwork as possible proving that your employer requires you to have a separate phone for business use only and like I say, keep itemised bills for both to prove it.