Using own car for work and loosing out

aries69

I am full time employed and most of my day is spent driving to appointments, I use my own car - which I must add is V reg and already has high mileage. Over the months the car has had lots of repairs which I have covered the cost (prob £800). I pay for the insurance, MOT, road tax, breakdown cover etc All my employer does is pay whatever petrol I put in the car. To sum it up I put £30 in today and he will then give me that back on Monday. I do very little private mileage - to be honest less than 15 miles per week.

I know i am loosing out, when I accepted the position I wasn't asked to provide a car and have no written contract to state this - they have also been promising to buy a company/pool car but never have.

I am worried that my MOT is due soon and its going to cost again. Can anyone advise how I approach my employer to negotiate a car allowance or a package that allows for wear and tear etc. I understand companies are all cutting back but so don't want to be greedy.

Any advice appreciated.

Flyboy152

aries69 wrote: »

I am full time employed and most of my day is spent driving to appointments, I use my own car - which I must add is V reg and already has high mileage. Over the months the car has had lots of repairs which I have covered the cost (prob £800). I pay for the insurance, MOT, road tax, breakdown cover etc All my employer does is pay whatever petrol I put in the car. To sum it up I put £30 in today and he will then give me that back on Monday. I do very little private mileage - to be honest less than 15 miles per week.

I know i am loosing out, when I accepted the position I wasn't asked to provide a car and have no written contract to state this - they have also been promising to buy a company/pool car but never have.

I am worried that my MOT is due soon and its going to cost again. Can anyone advise how I approach my employer to negotiate a car allowance or a package that allows for wear and tear etc. I understand companies are all cutting back but so don't want to be greedy.

Any advice appreciated.

How much are claiming on your P87?

jillymit

Are you covered by your insurance to use your car for business? This may also be something you may want to factor in.
Difficult to say how to approach this.
Just my two pennies worth here........:o

Your employer appears to be getting a good deal paying for what petrol you use and nothing else, (most) company expenses claims for mileage (X amount per mile) will normally be a little higher than the actual cost of the petrol to help with wear and tear, extra insurance costs etc. although few actually gain from using there own cars.

I'd double check everything I had to make sure that using your own car or having use of a vehicle is not part of your contract. Was it mentioned in the original vacancy? job description?
If there is nothing I'd have a word with your employer (I'm guessing small business) to see if you are able to negotiate a pay rise to cover your expenses, mentioning your concerns about the MOT .
What would happen if you had a problem with it and didn't have a car or a few days?
That said, bear in mind that there may be a hundred others who would be willing to accept the current arrangement if you decide not to and it sounds like you don't actually pay for any petrol yourself at all.

aries69

Thanks Flyboy, I don't claim anything via Inland Revenue - all i do is hand receipts over and they pay whatever fuel I've put in, I don't benefit as I hardly use the car for myself.

I know I need to approach them with my concerns but just don't know what to say. I've been searching internet for solutions but bit of a grey area unless employed by councils.

BTW I do not deliver pizzas!!!

bengalknights

Your employer should really be paying your for business mileage use of your car which is between 13p and 21p a mile depending on the engine size.

Try going in without the car and say its unrepairable to see what the reaction is and whether this kicks them into getting a pool car.

opinions4u

You should be able to claim tax releif on the difference between 40p a mile (for business) and what your employer pays you for petrol.

For example, if you do 1000 miles a month and claim £150 for petrol, HMRC will allow you tax relief on 1000 miles x 40p - £150 = £250 a month. This would be worth £50 a month to a basic rate taxpayer and £100 a month to a 40% taxpayer. Note that you should not include journeys between your home and office/main workplace in such a claim.

It would be worth making a note of all your business miles, dates, from and to, reason for journey, reimbursement by employer. Then submit the summary of this either with a P87 form or simply a letter to HMRC. If you are able to knock together journeys you've previously made, you should be strongly placed to make a retrospective claim too.

As for your employer? They're taking the michael. They should either provide you with a company car, a cash allowance or 40p a mile. The only problem is, they don't legally have to.

Flyboy152

aries69 wrote: »

Thanks Flyboy, I don't claim anything via Inland Revenue - all i do is hand receipts over and they pay whatever fuel I've put in, I don't benefit as I hardly use the car for myself.

I know I need to approach them with my concerns but just don't know what to say. I've been searching internet for solutions but bit of a grey area unless employed by councils.

BTW I do not deliver pizzas!!!

You can claim forty pence per mile for the first ten thousand miles and twenty-five pence for every mile after that, against your taxable income.

So, assuming you are paying basic rate tax, for example, if you do twenty thousand business miles a year, you will pay one thousand three hundred pounds less tax, a year. However, you have to factor in the payments your employer makes toward the use of your car. The simplest way is for you to pay tax on any fuel payments, at sixty pounds a week, that will be six hundred and twenty-four pounds tax a year, so your net saving would be six hundred and sevnty-six pounds a year (fifty-six per month).

aries69

Thanks guys, at least I know I'm not going mad!!! I do have business insurance added to my policy which was around £30 extra.

My car was off the road for a few days but it was when the weather was bad so we got away with cancelling the appointments. Other times when its been in the garage they have got someone else to drive me aound for the odd day.

Last week I had a puncture, my boss put the spare on I went to appointment then to garage who replaced the tyre for £35 - no offer of help which really hacked me off as couple of days before pay day.

I have kept a copy of every fuel receipt since April last year (10 mnths)-I've put in £1110 and mileage is 5500.

I am more confident now thanks to all your advice, maybe they will provide me with a push bike but at least I'll loose a few pounds in the meantime

Hammyman

The HMRC mileage allowance takes into account servicing and repairs so if you're going to claim the difference between what you get paid and the HMRC rate, you cannot claim for the tyre.

You also need to keep a record of the business mileage as well.

funkycoldribena

Stuff if I'd ever use my own car for a job,bosses like this are taking the @?>+.Just tell him your cars broken down due to all the wear and tear and see what happens. And your not loOsing out!! thats something completely different.

mountainofdebt

IF you're only doing 15 miles or so private mileage then is it really worth you having a car, even without the miles that you're doing for your employer?

If not then get rid and that will force your employer's hand......or alternatively tell them you've got rid and that will still force his hand.