Self Assessment - Help Needed

MrsCDavies

I was registered as self employed last year (at the same time as working full time and deducting tax through PAYE), and as a result I have to complete a tax self assessment for 2010/2011.

I receive a taxable fuel card benefit. I am required to estimate my spend on fuel, and am then taxed on that amount.

At the end of the financial year, I receive the forms from my company to complete my business mileage (which goes into a box for allowable expenses on the self assessment – this is ok), and also a statement saying that I have been taxed on X amount of fuel through the fuel card benefit (I have a personal car, but fuel card for all fuel), but that I have only purchased Y amount, and it gives me a difference.

Before I became self employed, I used to send this letter off to HMRC and would usually get a tax rebate for the tax that I had overpaid, not a huge amount, but it was usually money owed to me.

This year, I sent the letter in, and it was sent back to me saying that I needed to account for it on my self assessment, but with no indication of where.

When I spoke to the HMRC, they said that nothing to do with my fuel card had appeared on my P11D, and therefore I shouldn’t input it into my self assessment return, so I didn’t. However, for some reason, and I don’t know why, as the business that I was self employed for has generated no income so isn’t a factor, but this year, apparently I owe the HMRC money.

Given that I paid tax at 40% on £150 worth of fuel a month, but didn’t always spend this, logically, that to me I have paid too much tax, and am therefore owed some.

I have again contacted HMRC who have told me to talk to my HR department, who have told me to talk to HMRC, so I am going around in circles.

No one seems to be able to tell me what to do - so I am trying this forum as I am desparate to understand and make sure I am doing the right thing, and getting tax back if I am owed it!

If anyone could help, I would appreciate it!

Thanks!

jennifernil

Hi, not sure if this will be useful as not exactly the same but........

My OH, as part of his conditions, had an arangement whereby all his fuel was paid for, not by fuel card but by him paying and reclaiming. He also used his own car for a lot of business travel.

None of this ever appeared on his P11D, which always puzzled me.

However what he did was to keep a record of his business miles and claim for these at the 40/25ppm rate.

Then he deducted what his employer had paid for ALL his fuel. The difference was then entered on the SA as a business expense and he received a tax rebate (there is a box for claiming this on the SA, as you said, but you don't enter the full amount, just the shortfall)

In the "further information box" he would give details of miles travelled, money received etc so they could see how the amount was arrived at.

Would that work for you?

His was always a rebate, so he had not received more than allowed from his employer on the mileage rate, perhaps that was why it was never on the P11D.

Edit: SAs may well have changed in layout since his last reclaim in 2007, so read the notes and see what they say. You may now have to enter the amount received and the amount claimed, rather than just the difference