Mystery Shopping Thread 23 *PLEASE READ THE OP FIRST**PLEASE NO CLIENT NAMES OR FEES

misssarahleigh

My personal calculation:

Fee: 0.00
Reimbursement: 40.00
Milage: 5.62
Printing: 1.25
Expenses: 0.00
Other costs (e.g. Parking) 1.90

Profit: 31.23

I've spoken to HMRC. If you complete the job and 'benefit' then the money they give on a reimbursement is taxable. (less other expenses)

You Cannot claim you spent £50, but as the reimbursement is £40 claim UPTO £40 in expenses. The meal is your payment. Without a fee you are taxed on the money provided for the meal.

If, (for example) you did this all the way though. Claim expenses up to the amount you were given for your meal and your spreadsheet showed a profit/loss of 0.00 Mr tax man would be classifying that as wrong, and you would be getting a bill after he had finished making it right for you.

Or at least, thats what HMRC explained to me!

Boredupnorth

burnoutbabe wrote: »

Not everyone does it that way, most people would claim the Reimburesement and less the expenses (up to value of the reimebursement). Not showing any loss of course.

There is no law to say one must do it the way shown above, common business principles say you take your payments less your expenses.

If people wish to declare it that way, thats fine, HMRC will gladly take your tax. Plenty of people do it the other way and HMRC takes their tax as well.

There was one over zealous tax inspector who didn't like someone's treatment of expenses. But then probably plenty who we never hear about who have looked into an MS affairs and found their treatment fine. I've read all the tax rules and case law (i specialised in Corporate tax) and I am happy my treatment is okay. So do your own research.

(and if they change the law so its taxable on the benefit received, this would apply to everyone who got say £10 off a meal by filling in a survey post meal or worked as a reviewer for the local paper and got free meals/films to watch/the local travel correspondent etc) clearly unworkable.

It all comes down to how confident you are with being able to argue the cases should it come down to it. Obviously there is a significant difference in liability between the two methods and to be honest I go with the cheaper method and am confident I could put up an argument should the need arise. I pay my taxes like most people but I am also a great fan of limiting my liability like most right mided people would be.

whitelabel

Glyndwr wrote: »

I got this email as well. It included my name, which can't have been gained from my email address. The only American companies I'm registered with (that I can think of) are SSS & CRI.

My email doesn't say it's an ad though.

I'll be up for the MSing if they pay the fare (business class of course).

Read small print at bottom of email.

square-pants

I replied to a TNS urgent jobs email and said I would do a superstore visit for £x mileage. They emailed back, agreed the mileage and allocated me the job.

On the visit page when I log in, I can only see the original fee and original reimbursement listed. Will I still get the additional mileage fee agreed? Do they not show premiums on the visit page?

Charliezoo

Hi all,

Can anyone please shed any light on how payment for Service Measure/Quest works please? I've done 3 jobs for them since June and have only so far been paid for one. I'm still due money for a job done on 1st July, and another that was done on 15th July which I am eager to get the money back for as it was a hotel job that cost me over £150.

Before I start chasing them up can anyone tell me what date they make payment on please in case its due any day and I need to just be patient. Also am I right in saying there isn't any way to track payments with them other than from your own records?

I've really liked working for them but I am a bit concerned at how long it takes for them to reimburse such large amounts of money.

Thanks

ljshopper

square-pants wrote: »

I replied to a TNS urgent jobs email and said I would do a superstore visit for £x mileage. They emailed back, agreed the mileage and allocated me the job.

On the visit page when I log in, I can only see the original fee and original reimbursement listed. Will I still get the additional mileage fee agreed? Do they not show premiums on the visit page?

Just add the extra to the reimbusement sum.They will pay it from that.

heidbanger

misssarahleigh wrote: »

My personal calculation:

Fee: 0.00
Reimbursement: 40.00
Milage: 5.62
Printing: 1.25
Expenses: 0.00
Other costs (e.g. Parking) 1.90

Profit: 31.23

I've spoken to HMRC. If you complete the job and 'benefit' then the money they give on a reimbursement is taxable. (less other expenses)

You Cannot claim you spent £50, but as the reimbursement is £40 claim UPTO £40 in expenses. The meal is your payment. Without a fee you are taxed on the money provided for the meal.

If, (for example) you did this all the way though. Claim expenses up to the amount you were given for your meal and your spreadsheet showed a profit/loss of 0.00 Mr tax man would be classifying that as wrong, and you would be getting a bill after he had finished making it right for you.

Or at least, thats what HMRC explained to me!

As an aside how did you work out the £1.25 cost for printing, I thought the generally agreed rate was 6p per sheet?

burnoutbabe

Boredupnorth wrote: »

It all comes down to how confident you are with being able to argue the cases should it come down to it. Obviously there is a significant difference in liability between the two methods and to be honest I go with the cheaper method and am confident I could put up an argument should the need arise. I pay my taxes like most people but I am also a great fan of limiting my liability like most right mided people would be.

indeed, If it happened that it was queried and I ended up paying extra tax, well so be it, its not the end of the world. However it would be based on one inspectors interpretation of the case rules over another.

If you start by saying its all taxable and just pay it, then they are never going to tell you its the other way round and pay you tax back.

(also why would you get a BILL if HMRC challenged your calculation and put it the alternate way - you'd just pay up the extra due (if you didn't want to appeal). There should be no penalties as such, its not WRONG, or clear evasion/fraud. There is no where I have found that says "if you have some personal benefit for the expense, you can not claim it". Maybe there is an argument that no fee jobs are more hobby than business and therefore outside the tax spectrum.

But, its up to everyone how to tax their profits, read the guidance etc. I just wouldn't want any new poster to think there was only one way as there is not any clear rules.

misssarahleigh

heidbanger wrote: »

As an aside how did you work out the £1.25 cost for printing, I thought the generally agreed rate was 6p per sheet?

I was just making up numbers to show an example.

burnoutbabe wrote: »

indeed, If it happened that it was queried and I ended up paying extra tax, well so be it, its not the end of the world. However it would be based on one inspectors interpretation of the case rules over another.

If you start by saying its all taxable and just pay it, then they are never going to tell you its the other way round and pay you tax back.

(also why would you get a BILL if HMRC challenged your calculation and put it the alternate way - you'd just pay up the extra due (if you didn't want to appeal). There should be no penalties as such, its not WRONG, or clear evasion/fraud. There is no where I have found that says "if you have some personal benefit for the expense, you can not claim it". Maybe there is an argument that no fee jobs are more hobby than business and therefore outside the tax spectrum.

But, its up to everyone how to tax their profits, read the guidance etc. I just wouldn't want any new poster to think there was only one way as there is not any clear rules.

Business expenditure

You can get tax relief for your business expenditure as long as it's not:

• capital expenditure
• specifically non-allowable - for example entertaining expenditure

But to be allowable expenditure, it must be 'wholly and exclusively' for carrying on and earning the profits of your business. This means that your sole purpose for the expenditure must be a business purpose.
You can get some private benefit from the expenditure and still get tax relief for the amount spent for your business, as long as either:

• the private benefit was incidental and not the reason for the expenditure
• you can clearly identify and separate the expenditure between business and private purposes

You can deduct the full amount of your allowable business expenditure from your business income to work out your taxable profits.
This guide provides further information on the difference between 'allowable and non-allowable expenses' below.


Link Here


If I get a bottle of milk from a job, and use it. This is an 'Incidental' benefit and not taxable.


If I write off all the expense of a meal, when I took the job to get the meal, This is for private or personal gain (as their is no fee to make my business a profit) and therefor not an allowable expense.


Unless like I suggested you took the job to 'further' help you business and access fee paying jobs.


So, when you say

There is no where I have found that says "if you have some personal benefit for the expense, you can not claim it".

I'd kinda read the information above. You can benefit as a byproduct of the work, but not the sole purpose of it.

Big_Graeme

Charliezoo wrote: »

Hi all,

Can anyone please shed any light on how payment for Service Measure/Quest works please? I've done 3 jobs for them since June and have only so far been paid for one. I'm still due money for a job done on 1st July, and another that was done on 15th July which I am eager to get the money back for as it was a hotel job that cost me over £150.

Before I start chasing them up can anyone tell me what date they make payment on please in case its due any day and I need to just be patient. Also am I right in saying there isn't any way to track payments with them other than from your own records?

I've really liked working for them but I am a bit concerned at how long it takes for them to reimburse such large amounts of money.

Thanks

Service Measure pay on the 15th of the month for the preceding months jobs, anything done between 1st and 31st July will be paid on 15/08.
Unlike some they pay fast meaning it should be in your account on the 15th.