P87 tax relief for expenses-confused?!

imported_Ducklet

Hi,

I currently work as a carer in the community for min wage. I use my own car and do not get any expenses from my employer. They have given me a P87 form to claim my expenses back from HM Revenue and Customs then advised depending on how much I get back they may top it up.

Is this the correct form I should be filling in as it seems to mention the employer paying business mileage which mine don't. It also says 40p per mile up to 10,000 miles, do I get 20% back of what i claim? Would i be better claiming as self-employed or something :-s

:A

antrobus

imported_Ducklet wrote: »

Is this the correct form I should be filling in as it seems to mention the employer paying business mileage which mine don't.

Yes. In your case where the form asks for 'total mileage allowance payments received' you enter 0.00.

imported_Ducklet wrote: »

It also says 40p per mile up to 10,000 miles, do I get 20% back of what i claim?

Yes.

imported_Ducklet wrote: »

Would i be better claiming as self-employed or something :-s

Very likely no. And in any case, you're not self-employed. Your employment status is a matter of fact not choice.

imported_Ducklet wrote: »

I currently work as a carer in the community for min wage. I use my own car and do not get any expenses from my employer. They have given me a P87 form to claim my expenses back from HM Revenue and Customs then advised depending on how much I get back they may top it up.

I make no comment on the morality of an employer paying someone minimum wage and expecting them to cough up for their own travel expenses incurred on behalf of said employer. Neither do I understand what they mean by 'depending on how much you get back' since that's pretty easy to work out, or indeed how they would go about 'topping it up' after you've submitted the P87, when the amount of the top-up would need to declared on the P87 in the first place.

jimmo

There have been a number of enquiries on here by people working as carers in the community. They all seem to be on minimum wage and get no help from their employers in respect of their travelling expenses.
Like antrobus (post #2), I will refrain from commenting on the morality of that but you need to bear in mind that to get tax relief you have to be liable to tax in the first place.
Assuming this is your only job and you get no taxable state benefits you will need to earn more than the Income Tax Personal Allowance of £7,475.
That equates to £143.75 a week before you become liable to Income Tax.
I am sure a number of previous posters do not earn that much due to lack of hours and so claiming tax relief was a waste of time for them.