Car expenses from business use

gfm198

Unable to get through to the tax office to ask, but from previous experience they never give an answer just fob you off with a link which still doesn’t answer your question!

Firstly, my understanding of using your car for business you can claim either mileage allowance at 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and then 25p per mile thereafter. Or you claim 18% depreciation every year as a reducing balance as well as all the other bills for the car i.e. insurance, petrol, repairs, servicing, road tax, mot etc etc.

Hopefully the above is correct. My question is if I own two cars which I use for business as well can I use one method for one car and the other method for the other car. For example car 1 (business and personal use) use the 45p per mile, then 25p per mile Car 2 (business only) use the depreciation method?

Any advice/answers would be greatly appreciated.

00ec25

I assume "you" are a sole trader

the method used applies to the individual vehicle for as long as you own that specific vehicle

so the answer to your question is yes,
- one can be mileage,
- the other can be capital allowances and running costs (adjusted for private use obviously)

gfm198

Thank you for your reply, and yes I’m a sole trader. It would be the other way around though. Car 1 mileage and private use, Car 2 purely business. I guess it is allowed either way around?

00ec25

gfm198 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply, and yes I’m a sole trader. It would be the other way around though. Car 1 mileage and private use, Car 2 purely business. I guess it is allowed either way around?

by definition, the mileage method relates to business use, since the claim is for business miles travelled only

a personal use adjustment applies to the full costs method, but obviously cannot apply to the mileage method.

If you want to state that one vehicle is 100% business use and therefore claim 100% costs with no private use adjustment at all, you had better keep meticulous records to prove it.

https://www.gov.uk/expenses-if-youre-self-employed/travel