Self Employed Mileage Advice

swanny65

Hi
A few years ago i posted on here when a friends wife started self employment in 2013 and registered with HMRC. I complete her end of year return as it is very basic.
She started work as a horse rider taking out horses for the owner of the horses. She is paid by the owner for this work. HMRC agreed she and other riders working for the owner are self employed.
Her first few years income were below the Class 2/4 NIC level and she has none tax to pay.
However more recently she left the first employer and started riding out for two different horse owners. This past year her income has increased, profit was £7010.00, she hasn't any expenses to claim and she is over the class 2 limit. I have told her to bite the bullet and pay the £150.00 owed.
However accepting she is self employed am I correct in assuming the mileage she incurs traveling to the two yards can be claimed at £0.50. (I was also self employed and claimed this flat rate for customer visits)
On my original post a few years ago the 24 month rule was mentioned is that applicable.
She and I don't want to get involved in working out depreciation, keeping fuel receipts etc etc
Thanks very much

BoGoF

She does realise not paying NIC is seriously going to affect her state pension? Suggest she gets a forecast.

The mileage rates are 45ppm for first 10,000 miles and 25ppm thereafter.

Pennywise

Even if self employed, travel to a regular workplace may not be an allowable expense, especially if she can't "do the work" at home as then HMRC would argue her home<>yard travelling is normal commuting and not allowable.

There's also a "habit" test recently imposed following a court case, where a regular pattern of work becomes a series of regular workplaces, i.e. if a s/e person always go to place A on a Monday, place B on a Tuesday, etc.

For the sake of £150 I'd just let it be and pay it - even moreso as it's giving her a years' worth of NI credits which count towards state benefits, particularly state pension, but maybe also for other benefits that may come into play, such as jobseekers allowance, incapacity benefits etc, some of which may require recent NI credits.

swanny65

BoGoF wrote: »

She does realise not paying NIC is seriously going to affect her state pension? Suggest she gets a forecast.

The mileage rates are 45ppm for first 10,000 miles and 25ppm thereafter.

Yes agree. I have told her that as her Child Benefit ended a couple of years ago

swanny65

Thanks both. I will play safe and not claim. Like you say it will cover her for State Pension. I doubt she has a full pension record yet

Dazed_and_confused

she hasn't any expenses to claim and she is over the class 2 limit

Wouldn't it make life simpler to just claim the Trading Allowance?

Notwithstanding that she should probably still voluntarily pay the Class 2 National Insurance unless she is confident she will attain the full new State Pension by other means.