Car Allowance & Fuel Rates

sudgolf

Hi everyone.

This may have already been answered in other posts however from searching through I couldn't find anything that was specific enough.

So..

I travel alot for my job across the UK and as such I am given a car allowance. It has always been "known" within the business that if you get a car allowance you claim back fuel based on the Governments Advisory Fuel rates, as of writing this post it sits at £0.20 per mile (for my size of Diesel Engine).
Advisory fuel rates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

I was wondering if this is correct? Having been looking into this deeper over recent weeks Im now confused as to weather I should have been eligible to be claiming for the higher Business Travel Allowance rates as this is my own personal car. 
Expenses and benefits: business travel mileage for employees' own vehicles: Rules for tax - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Is someone able to provide some insight here please. I have always thought that it was a bit unfair that by using my own personal car, even with the car allowance (which is quite low by all accounts) that I was only able to claim the fuel rate.

Thanks in advance, 

XRS200

I've always known employers to pay the advisory rate to employees who get a car allowance.

The other rates are maximum without paying tax on them.

Do you have an employee handbook?  It would normally say what you can claim 

Grumpy_chap

sudgolf said:

Hi everyone.

This may have already been answered in other posts however from searching through I couldn't find anything that was specific enough.

So..

I travel alot for my job across the UK and as such I am given a car allowance. It has always been "known" within the business that if you get a car allowance you claim back fuel based on the Governments Advisory Fuel rates, as of writing this post it sits at £0.20 per mile (for my size of Diesel Engine).
Advisory fuel rates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

I was wondering if this is correct? Having been looking into this deeper over recent weeks Im now confused as to weather I should have been eligible to be claiming for the higher Business Travel Allowance rates as this is my own personal car. 
Expenses and benefits: business travel mileage for employees' own vehicles: Rules for tax - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Is someone able to provide some insight here please. I have always thought that it was a bit unfair that by using my own personal car, even with the car allowance (which is quite low by all accounts) that I was only able to claim the fuel rate.

Thanks in advance, 

So, you get a car allowance which is subject to income tax and national insurance.

You then claim 20 pence per mile (AFR) for business mileage.

It is possible to claim the difference between the 20 pence per mile and the AMAP rates (45 pence per mile up to 10k miles and then 25 pence per mile) as tax deductible expenses.  This is done after the event through your tax return (or, there is a method for those not otherwise requiring a tax return).  
It is worth 45 pence - 20 pence = 25 pence per mile, so the reclaim value is 5 pence per mile (20% tax payer) or 20 pence per mile (40% tax payer).
Over 10k business miles, the amount against which tax can be reclaimed is 25 pence - 20 pence = 5 pence so the value reclaimed is 1 pence per mile (20% tax) or 2 pence per mile (40% tax) .
Other tax rates are available.