Business Usage and BIK

johnnydriver · 14 June 2019 at 5:24PM

HI

I am told that when driving your own vehicle or a company car for work purposes, the ordinary commute must be deducted from the mileage claim even no journey to the ordinary place of work is made.

In the scenario that my usual commute to my permanent place of work is a round trip of 50 miles. If i drove for business purposes, from my home 100 mile round trip, i would have to deduct 50 miles from my claim otherwise HMRC see me being reimbursed for a commute that i would've had to take had i not needed to make the work journey as a benefit in kind.

In over 20 years of driving for work purposes i have never heard of this. I can find nothing in the HMRC guidance to suggest this either.

Has anyone else ever heard of this and perhaps point me in the direction of the official guidance?

Thanks

DUTR · 14 June 2019 at 5:34PM

Common sense should tell you that you deduct your commute mileage from home to office.
Otherwise you are fiddling the taxman!
Ask Alcapone about messing with them, for the sake of £14-£22.50 is it worth it all?

johnnydriver · 14 June 2019 at 7:20PM

So if home is Liverpool, workplace is Manchester but I drive to London and back for work and do not go into work. I must deduct an imaginary journey from home to work that I didn't take?

My point is where is the BIK? Surely mileage is reimbursed tax free by HMRC because there is no benefit. It merely compensates you for the fuel, insurance and wear and tear etc

DUTR · 14 June 2019 at 7:47PM

johnnydriver wrote: »

So if home is Liverpool, workplace is Manchester but I drive to London and back for work and do not go into work. I must deduct an imaginary journey from home to work that I didn't take?

YES

My point is where is the BIK? Surely mileage is reimbursed tax free by HMRC because there is no benefit. It merely compensates you for the fuel, insurance and wear and tear etc

It's not about your point, you are claiming the ADDITIONAL mileage, not for the commute.

ETA: if you were registered a home worker then you could claim the whole return journey.

DoaM · 14 June 2019 at 8:21PM

The easy way to resolve it (in the example given) is to claim the mileage from Manchester to London (and back), and deduct the normal commute mileage (Liverpool to Manchester and back).

johnnydriver · 14 June 2019 at 8:36PM

So can anyone actually point me to the official guidance that states imaginary commutes must be deducted from real life journeys?

I just want to see where HMRC actually publish this

ruperts · 14 June 2019 at 10:45PM

I think if it's classed as 'necessary attendance' then you could claim it all.

Necessary attendance: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32270

Examples: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32011

This example seems the most relevant: "Example 4 An employee lives in Oxford and travels to work in London at a daily cost of £30. One day she has to travel to a temporary workplace in Hereford, travelling directly from home at a cost of £34. She can deduct the full cost of £34."

There doesn't seem to be any suggestion there that you would have to remove your ordinary commute. Not entirely sure though, I might be looking at the wrong things.

BoGoF · 14 June 2019 at 11:20PM

As far as HMRC are concerned the journey is the journey and no 'normsl commute' would need to be deducted when claiming tax relief from HMRC.

However I suspect it is your employer that is telling you to restrict your claim for mileage from them? If so, they can set their own policy and not a lot you can do about it.

marlot · 15 June 2019 at 6:56AM

johnnydriver wrote: »

I am told that when driving your own vehicle or a company car for work purposes, the ordinary commute must be deducted from the mileage claim even no journey to the ordinary place of work is made...

This was brought in where I worked, as a new rule. I don't believe there is an HMRC rule, but rather a company cost-cutting measure.

Like you, I did a long commute to work (50 miles each way), so found I was rarely able to claim. I found that the rules allowed me to charge the full amount of a train ticket, so when I needed to travel on business, I took the train instead. Which cost them more, but was probably better for the environment.

neilmcl · 15 June 2019 at 9:05AM

marlot wrote: »

This was brought in where I worked, as a new rule. I don't believe there is an HMRC rule, but rather a company cost-cutting measure.

Like you, I did a long commute to work (50 miles each way), so found I was rarely able to claim. I found that the rules allowed me to charge the full amount of a train ticket, so when I needed to travel on business, I took the train instead. Which cost them more, but was probably better for the environment.

Yes there very much is a set of rules surrounding this. HMRC don't consider commuting to and from your permanent place of work as a business journey and therefore not eligible for tax relief. It's been this way for as long as I've known it.

Read the definitions in the link below - https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32000

DUTR · 15 June 2019 at 9:05AM

marlot wrote: »

This was brought in where I worked, as a new rule. I don't believe there is an HMRC rule, but rather a company cost-cutting measure.

Like you, I did a long commute to work (50 miles each way), so found I was rarely able to claim. I found that the rules allowed me to charge the full amount of a train ticket, so when I needed to travel on business, I took the train instead. Which cost them more, but was probably better for the environment.

My employer has always adopted this 'rule' and I've been there 30 years.
I'd imagine the commute is already included in the personal tax code?

Business Usage and BIK

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