Car allowance query

stov

Would appreciate a little advice.


I joined my employer last july and opted to use my own vehicle for travel, as i needed to visit various work sites, the deal was £400 a month car allowance and 45p per mile for the 1st 10000 miles then 25p per mile for anything over 10,000 miles, as per the HMRC guidelines. Between July '13 and March '14 i did approximately 14,000 miles, from April to end of August approx 8,000 miles.

I averaged between 1500 and 2000 miles per month, what has transpired is that my car allowance is given to me and then taken back the following month this is due to the amount of miles i drive. Apparently the breakdown of the 45p is 15p for mileage and 30p wear and tear.

I have now opted for a company car, after selling my car for considerably less than i bough it for. i am now being asked by my payroll for over £1300 due to the mileage i've driven!!!!

To summarise the year, i have lost £4800 (12 x £400) through an allowance that i thought I was given each month, lost £1700 through depriciation of the car that i've had for a year and OWE over £1300 due to the fact i've driven approximately 22,500 miles over the year!!!

I would welcome any advice, i have looked on the HMRC website, it does state that with the 45p and 25p allowance, if your employer pays less than this that you can claim the difference in tax i.e. i got paid 15p so 45-15p = 30p i can claim the tax on this, however, can i do this as i received an allowance, although it was taken each month.

Thanks in advance for any help.

DUTR

Have you got a P11 statement?

InsideInsurance

With my former employer they only paid company car rate for mileage if you got a car allowance/ were able to get a company car via flexible benefits.

They advised this was a HMRC rule but never been able to find anything of this ilk in the rules. As you yourself say, you can claim a shortfall in mileage payment as allowance from HMRC. I did light mileage so never bothered to do it.

AdrianC

What does your contract say about the "allowance"? The precise wording is key, not a precis or interpretation.

No matter how you're paid, you can claim the difference between what you receive and HMRC rate.