Housing benefit and capital allowance

effone

Hi ,i am a self employed driving instructor and for the past 3yrs have had help paying our rent from housing benefit.
every year i submit my accounts in full to the HB office and every year they have accepted my expenses in full and also my capital allowance for my car .
AS the car is dual controlled it is classed as plant/machinery under inland revenue law, although i am aware that HB law can differ from inland revenue
As i cannot claim the hire purchase cost as an expense of the business the only other way to claim is via capital allowance, which is a fair process as it is a genuine cost of operating my business.
This year HB asked me to clarify what capital allowance was as the officer did not understand .
I did this and also clarified how the amount was calculated as well as a few other expenses they wern't sure of.
A week later they wrote and made a desision that my claim was accepted on the evidence i produced on the 16th of this month, however a week later i recieved a new award notice again based on the evidence i produced on the 16th but this time not allowing the capital allowance for my car and with no explanation why.

can someone please advise me where i go from here as i was under the impression that it was allowable if it was a way of repaying a loan to replace equipment or a genuine expense

Thanks

Paul

HappyMJ

Confusing isn't it... You claim the hire purchase costs for housing benefit instead which I'm sure you can claim for the HMRC as well but that would depend on your accountant.

If it's a loan you would only claim the interest charged on the loan.

effone

Thanx for your reply but unfortunatly hire purchase repayments are not allowable for hmrc or housing benefit , capital allowance is hmrc s way of covering your expenses and up til now HB have accepted this, although the officer i spoke to admitted she did not understand it !!!! makes a mockery of the system if that is the case.

elmer

You need to appeal the decision in writing, your appeal rights are on the back of the decision notice, and someone else, hopefully more qualified will look at this again.

Elmer

john539

effone wrote: »

A week later they wrote and made a desision that my claim was accepted on the evidence i produced on the 16th of this month, however a week later i recieved a new award notice again based on the evidence i produced on the 16th but this time not allowing the capital allowance for my car and with no explanation why.

They could have made a mistake.
They're only human, under pressure, possibly young & lacking training & it's complex stuff.

If you know the rules & have dealt with it like this before, you might be able to point them in right direction

I would phone to confirm they have or have not made a mistake.
Try to speak person who dealt with it, or who knows what they are doing.

If they have made a mistake, get decision confirmed in writing.

If they think they have not made a mistake, appeal in writing.

Sometimes basic mistakes can quickly be sorted over phone, then confirmed in writing.

effone

thanx for your advice, will approach them after the bank holiday and appeal if nessasary.
lets hope its easily resolved !