Car Allowance for Self Employed??

nattypops

Hi,
I am a self employed franchisee, and am unsure as to whether I can claim for using my car or not. My accountant has told me I cant claim the 40p mileage allowance because im travelling from home to fixed place of work, however I must be able to claim something!

I need my car to transport all of my work stuff to the 3 different venues I go to each week, plus I use it to travel to monthly meetings.
I am claiming for home office, as I do all paperwork etc at home, and probably spend 50/50 of my time at venues/working from home.

Please can anyone shed any light on this? I have had a look at past posts but im never sure if my situation is slightly different.


Thank you in advance

Natalie
(this is my 1st post )

LindaJane47

Hi Natalie

The first thing is, you can claim the mileage, not as an allowance, but as an expense (ie the HMRC doesn't give you the money, but it is knocked off what you earn so that you don't pay tax on it).

However you can only claim it for business miles, not for commuting. It sounds like you work from home, but go to 3 'fixed' places each week, plus possibly somewhere else for monthly meetings?

At the 3 places you go to every week - can you store your work stuff there or do you have to take it to and from home??

It really depends on where HMRC would decide is your actual work place. Certainly if it were only one venue you went to every week they would deem that to be your place of work - but three?

Someone on here might take a different view, but I would have thought your work place was your home, in which case all your mileage to and from the venues, to and from the monthly meetings and any ohter mileage used as part of your business (eg for buying 'stuff') is claimable as an expense.

Incidentally, the rate has gone up from 40p to 45p per mile this tax year - your accountant should know that ....

Regards
Linda

nattypops

Thanks for replying! Yes i have to transport all my work stuff to each venue, 3 different ones each week, plus travel to another venue for monthly meetings. When I started it was just one venue, but I now run 3 different ones, so I don't know if that's why my accountant is saying I can't claim. But I wouldnt be able to do it without using my car so that's why im sure I must be able to get something back!

John_Pierpoint

nattypops wrote: »

Thanks for replying! Yes i have to transport all my work stuff to each venue, 3 different ones each week, plus travel to another venue for monthly meetings. When I started it was just one venue, but I now run 3 different ones, so I don't know if that's why my accountant is saying I can't claim. But I wouldn't be able to do it without using my car so that's why[STRIKE] I'm sure I must be able to get something back![/STRIKE]

Claim 45p per mile against my profit, for at least some of the journeys; thus not paying 20p in the pound on these legitimate business expenses.:D

If it is not a secret, what do you actually do at these venues?

John,

PS it is currently 45p per mile [for the first 10K miles] but if you are in the process of completing your 10/11 tax return for profits in that tax year then it is 40p [Do you account from April thru March to align your tax year with HMRC's medieval fiscal year?]

nattypops

Yes its in line with the government tax year, so would be 40p. I run 3 Slimming World groups so all the money etc is taken at the venues, but then I do all paperwork and stock etc at home