Business Mileage Claim

Trespasser

Hi guys,

Im looking for some information please, I have searched the internet but I'm only finding bit and pieces and having to string everything together myself which I dont want to do for obvious reasons which i'll now explain.
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I have been employed by the same company for the past 20 months, my job is to provide onsite computer support to customers. I have never claimed anything for my mileage during this time, but with rising fuel costs I am now getting seriously out of pocket at the end of every month and am now facing fuel (diesel) bills of £150 and i'm covering approximately 1300 miles per month all out of my monthly wage.

I do not relish the task of approaching my boss with mileage claims, is there another way I can claim these back?

Also i'm expecting some flack from the accountant the company uses and some probable excuses:: "the company cannot afford such payments", "or it will not be worth it after paying the tax on the monies claimed", or perhaps "mileage is not claimable" ... due to some reason or other. I may be painting a grim picture of my boss but he's really a nice guy. I just want to be well informed before I "do battle".

I look forward to your replies.

MonkeySaving?

Straight to the taxman fella. If you are doing business miles then you can claim tax relief against the full 40p. You need to get hold of this years P87 form, fill it in for 2006/2007 and also the 2007/2008 form. Send it back to the taxman and then wait for them to ask for your mileage logs. Send the mileage logs and then await the tax rebate.

Trespasser

MonkeySaving?

Many thanks for the speedy reply, I may have a problem though.

The little bits of information that I have picked up on indicate that I do need to fill out mileage logs just as you quite correctly say, and this is what I have just started doing. The thing is I have only started keeping records of my miles starting from May 08 when I realised I could claim something. I have however I have kept records of my visits to customers during the past 12 months and could quite easily trace journeys and account for the genuine business mileage. Would I be allowed to do this or would it be too risky?? or would I have to start my claims the same time I started keeping mileage logs??? (you see what i'm getting at)

Also, How often could I claim and when could I expect payment (every 1 month, every 3 months, 6 months)?? It would be ideal if I could claim at the end of every month, and is there a pre printed form that I have to use for keeping track of miles?? The process I use at the moment is scribbling notes on a pad and then entering the information into my database later to print off at the end of every month for administrative purposes. Would I need to sign them or have some sort of independant decraration on them saying i'm not lying????

Would you perhaps suggest I got an accountant to help with my first few claims as dealing with the tax office seems a daunting task and I wouldn't want to risk getting the paperwork wrong.

I'm sorry for all the questions but the information on the internet seems a little flakey and seems to make the assumption that you know about taxes and dealing with the IR. I did send an email to my tax office (I think) asking about claiming, but they were as helpful as the proverbial teapot and suggested I call another department on the phone to discuss it ..... Mmmmmm freaky ....:eek:

Once again thank you for the speedy reply, you help is appreciated.

fengirl_2

I think your records of customer visits would be acceptable. You would only send evidence of your claim if HMRC decided to investigate it.
However, I think HMRC will ask why your employer is not reimbursing your mileage and may want a letter from him confirming that they do not pay this to you.
You will claim annually - at the end of each tax year. You could ask for a provisional allowance to be put in your code number for this year.
I dont think you need an accountant.

Andy_L

TBH, as a tax payer I think your employer (and thus ultimatly his customers) should pay this rather than us.
Check your contract - it may be you get a flat rate car allowance or can claim. Are you obliged to provide your own car as part of your employment? Could be time for it to breakdown if you don't ;-)

Zazen999

Surely the company have priced these jobs including transport to the sites?

I find it amazing that business mileage being paid back to you isn't included in your contract. Are you absolutely sure you shouldn't have been claiming all this time?

Personally, i would
Look at my contract for further info
Prepare full mileage claims for every month since starting from your records; you can easily calculate miles from multimap directions page; I put my mileage in a circle in my diary; and complete my company mileage form every month.
Start recording every mile thus from today onwards. [which you say you are doing now].

The only argument I can see is that they may say that they have considered this as part of the wage they offered you; I would dispute this however as this is a business expense and should be kept separate. Check the contract and [if you can get hold of it] their policy on business expenses.

If might just be that they assumed that you would claim; bad induction...and nobody has picked it up. I would go in with this angle and a handful of mileage logs asking for the standard format to use to reclaim the allowance. Then see where that takes things.

Trespasser

Mmmmm, Many thanks for the replies guys, Im certainly wiser now than I was this time last week.

Unfortunately I dont work to an 'official contract' and theres nothing on paper that I have signed regarding working hours or payments, perhaps this is part of the problem. However, it has been mentioned on occasions that "we'll have to do something about fuel receipts" but nothing permanent has materialised as yet. I have spoken to an accountant friend over the weekend who has enlightened me to the fact that my employer is under no obligation to tell me about claiming mileage, which to be honest I can now see the game that has been played ..... if the company dont say, I dont know what im entitled to. .... mmmmm :mad: Exactly the same game as working tax credits, which has now been sorted out.....

When I return to work on Tuesday I am adamant that I'll hit him with the "I need to claim mileage expenses", I now see that I have nothing to lose, and I think I now have enough information to hand to ensure that Im not going to be whitewashed with probable excuses.

I understand what you are saying 'Andy L' ..... I have though about "theres no diesel in the car, I'll see you next payday, or when you bring me some"

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So just to recap.

I'm entiltled to 40p per mile for the first 10000 miles and 25p thereafter.

I have a copy of form P87 to fill in for last years claims from the IR and I need to get his tax office code to fill in the box's at the top (it is the companies tax office ..... ??). I cant see me being paid a lump sum of approximately £5000 for last years miles from the company. So how long will it take IR to sort it out and send me a cheque? (do they do this)

If he admits defeat, I can claim mileage back at the end of every month?

If he wont or doesn't pay future mileage I can claim directly from IR on a yearly basis. (does it have to be april to april or can I do it from my 12 months?)

If he pays less than 40p // 25p , I can claim the shortfall from IR using P87 form again every 12 months

Any mileage allowance I get paid is free from tax and NI deductions.?

Is there anything i've missed?

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Curiously, if I claim directly from IR .... do they then recover payments made to me, from the company themselves ??? Not that it makes any difference but I cant imagine a pot of money thats used to subsidise 'hard done to' employees.

Altarf

Trespasser wrote: »

So just to recap.

I'm entiltled to 40p per mile for the first 10000 miles and 25p thereafter.

No, you seem to have misunderstood. HMRC allow payments of 40p per mile for the first 10000 miles and 25p thereafter for business mileage to paid by your employer for tax free. If your employer pays less than 40p/25p then you can claim tax relief on the difference.

So if your employer pays you nothing then you can claim tax relief on the 40p/25p, not the 40p/25p. So if you are a standard rate tax payer, HMRC will pay you back 20% of 40p/25p, which is 8p/5p.

villabadger

Sounds like your employer is having a right laugh! No contract of employment! Employees making business trips at the employees expense without any re-imbursement whatsoever! I wish I could get away with this with my employees!

Seriously, I hope you are being paid an incredibly high salary to cover the loss to you. As well as being out of pocket every month, you are loosing on the wear and tear on your vehicle, decrease in vehicle value due to higher mileage, more expensive insurance for business use (I hope you have this!) etc.... Don't forget the 40/25p per mile is supposed to re-imburse you for some of this loss.

Is this the first job that you have had that involves business travel? A more 'seasoned' field engineer would be fully appraised of the ways of this particular world. This is usually the first thing that gets sorted (after the salary) when I employ new engineers.

Your boss knows exactly what he is doing and you shouldn't accept this shady behaviour. Make sure things change with immediate effect and you get what's owed you from previous months OR get another job! Also, ask about your contract of employment.

Good luck - let us know how things go.

MonkeySaving?

Good post Villabadger

Trespasser

At this point, I have only one thing to say.

If stupidity was a criminal offence ..... I would be looking at life.

So if your employer pays you nothing then you can claim tax relief on the 40p/25p, not the 40p/25p. So if you are a standard rate tax payer, HMRC will pay you back 20% of 40p/25p, which is 8p/5p.

I see, at the rates of 8p/5p its not worth me filling in any paperwork at all. I spend approximately £150 per month on fuel and at those rates im still down by £46 based on previous months miles.

Mmmmm, If he refuses to pay its time to start job hunting me thinks.....

I'll post my results in the next few days.