MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD 17 - please don't mention client names or fees on here!!

Robert_Roberston

Becles wrote: »

No you can't class money you have worked to earn as a gift.

You seem to want people to tell you that it is ok to commit tax evasion. I'm sorry but that won't happen on this forum.

You've been given good advice on how to register and pay tax/NI, and there is a lot of information in the first posts on this thread. It's up to you if you follow the advice or decide to perceive your earnings as a gift.



But the North has been snowed in for over a week now, so ner :D

Still stuck in here and both schools are closed. Just watched a neighbour really struggle to get his car out of our street with lots of digging and pushing.

Think I'll stay in and rearrange my diary for a change!

Some great advice there Becles.

Radarman

Hopefully without getting the wrath of the forum down on me I had always assumed that the 40 packets of a certain cold remedy or loads of eggs or the other rubbish that the MS companies forced you to buy were Tax deductable. The reason being:

a) You were forced to purchase them as part of the MS assignment. The MS company do not want / provide a means to return the goods. (Unless they are really valuable.)
b) Who could ever use 40 packets of cold remedy?

If this is not the case then it really means that MS work is not worthwhile as you will have to pay tax on useless and unwanted purchases.

Am I really so wrong in thinking this?

I am not raising this to stir things up but would genuinely like a Tax Experts view on this as it may decide whether I want to continue MS.

borders

The_Pixi wrote: »

And the money returned is called the Fee and my shopping is re-imbursed and itemized separately. so it's not LOL it's a valid question as to what is a payment actually is, presumably they can't just assume I'm lying about disposing of the shopping they would have to prove it? After all the mystery shopping company are disposing of the shopping themselves when they say they don't want it, maybe I don't either.

.

It's HMRC. They dont have to prove it. They will regard it as a payment in kind which is taxable.

If I get a bag of groceries that the MS company pay for then it's taxable. Same with fuel, dvd's etc. Meals, postage and items that you wouldnt normally buy arent.

I wouldnt risk it with the tax. If HMRC think you owe them something then they may look into all your finances in more detail. They may find you owe them something you dont know about. They may fine you if you have deliberately withheld information and due tax.

I tend to err on the side of paying my tax. I have ended up with 10 dozen eggs in the house and did give some away or threw some away but still included the reimbursement for them all in my tax return. It's only a couple of quid and I would rather not give the taxman a reason to look further into my affairs.

jen_br

The_Pixi wrote: »

OK there are no client names in my post? BURGER I complained about and XXX just phoned me up because I had bought a hamper. And the price I have given doesn't reveal the actual total if the shopping is to be part of the payment so no I won't remove anything.

I'm not keeping the repeated guide book on how to fill the form in that I'm sent each time and so I throw it out.

And the money returned is called the Fee and my shopping is re-imbursed and itemized separately. so it's not LOL it's a valid question as to what is a payment actually is, presumably they can't just assume I'm lying about disposing of the shopping they would have to prove it? After all the mystery shopping company are disposing of the shopping themselves when they say they don't want it, maybe I don't either.

Anyway thanks to the nicer post from a previous member Im not going to bother with it again because the way I see it the shopping is just free from the store.

Who would have thought that it would be so difficult, the Mystery shopping company didn't explain any of this to me when they asked me to do it.

Firstly read the first page of this thread we don't mention client names.. the 2 shops you mentioned ARE CLIENTS! we don't take fees or amounts at all and your tone is not appreciated. The problem is companies read this thread and try to peice things together in order to poach clients.

I am TRYING to explain to you that the groceries ARE NOT free and that they are an expense.. you NEED to claim it if you don't want to accept it fine. however when HMRC breathe down your neck dont come complaining.

EVEN if you throw out the shopping its still an expense and you STILL have to claim it all.

Plus.. you are admitting here that you are keeping the shopping and just "saying" your throwing it out which is illegal and MSE isn't about cheating the taxman. all of us on this thread complete our taxs in the proper way

If you were to get XX for the fee and XXX to purchase shopping then you are to record it. I am not sure how much HMRC would believe if you kept saying you were throwing out XXX worth of shopping? Think about it... you have to prove it... HMRC don't.

THE MS company doesn't have to explain it you are SELF EMPLOYED its down to you to learn about the taxs.

Your post frustrates me as it seems you don't want to accept anything anyone is saying unless someone tells you you are right.

jen_br

Thanks Becles and Borders frustration sets in when someone is trying to avoid paying taxs that I pay!


Radarman... certain things are.. the IR has told me if I am buying a meal as a job and ive got to write a report on it.. I can claim that as a expense...

duchy

My view is if I have to buy items x Y and Z in a brief then it's treated as a non taxable element as I wouldn't buy it normally (Ginko springs to mind this week)-but if it's a shop where I have free choice on what I buy -and can buy items I'd actually use it's declarable.
A gift to my mind is if it is unsoliciated but if you have applied for the shop it can't be unsoliciated

borders

Radarman

It's not an easy answer. As I said I included the eggs but I didnt include medicines that I bought. I saw the eggs as something I could benefit from but the medicines werent.

Same when I ended up with a bunch of cheap birthday cards. Had to buy them but was never going to use them. Handed them into the charity shop. No benefit to me so not taxable.

Radarman

borders wrote: »

Radarman

It's not an easy answer. As I said I included the eggs but I didnt include medicines that I bought. I saw the eggs as something I could benefit from but the medicines werent.

Same when I ended up with a bunch of cheap birthday cards. Had to buy them but was never going to use them. Handed them into the charity shop. No benefit to me so not taxable.

Thanks for that. That's exactly the reasoning that I have applied before to MS items.

Lil_Me_2

Radarman wrote: »

Hopefully without getting the wrath of the forum down on me I had always assumed that the 40 packets of a certain cold remedy or loads of eggs or the other rubbish that the MS companies forced you to buy were Tax deductable. The reason being:

a) You were forced to purchase them as part of the MS assignment. The MS company do not want / provide a means to return the goods. (Unless they are really valuable.)
b) Who could ever use 40 packets of cold remedy?

If this is not the case then it really means that MS work is not worthwhile as you will have to pay tax on useless and unwanted purchases.

Am I really so wrong in thinking this?

I am not raising this to stir things up but would genuinely like a Tax Experts view on this as it may decide whether I want to continue MS.

This is my understanding too, but it is a very grey area, even amongst HMRC staff!

If you have to buy a particular product or meal as per the instructions from the client then this is tax deductable, however if you get told you get a £5 reimbursement to spend on groceries of your choice then this isn't a tax deductable expense.

For anyone on the MSUK forum there is a wonderful long thread from a member on there who was investigated by the HMRC about this exact issue. I.e one person at HMRC said they should pay tax on it all, but their argument of "I had to buy it in order to get the fee (which they pay tax on) therefore it should be classed as a necessary expenditure" seemed to sit tightly and they won.

So it's a word of warning for all the no fee assignments as you're really proving that the "free food" etc was of use to you therefore as it was a benefit you should pay tax on it.

Kimitatsu

duchy wrote: »

Dunno why you think the snow is only up North !!!!

Plenty of areas in the South East are completely impossible too

Noooo I dont! But we have had snow for over a week up here (and I am not far oop north) which the MS companies seem to have ignored! Mind you so has the media - its only when it gets to the SE and the M25 gets blocked that anyone seems to take note........

My point was that we HAVE had snow for that long but as most of the MS companies are dahn sarf they dont comprehend what the conditions are like! I talked to one person yesterday and pointed out that I had 12 inches of snow in the drive and her tone of voice was "yeah right", and I dread to think what the scottish bretheren are dealing with :eek: