using own car for work mileage rates etc

[Trustmeimadoctor]

ive used my own car for work ever since i could so 17 years or so and ive only ever claimed what the company pays currently 25p flat how do i go about getting the rest and can i back date it at all obviously not 17 years but a year or 2 would get me a fair amount extra back !

[GT03ROB]

There is no "rest". You get what your company pays.

You may be able to claim tax relief on the difference between what your company pays & HMRCs rate in your tax return.

[Eric Mc]

HMRC allows you to reclaim from your employer tax free up to 45p per mile up 10,000 miles and 25p per mile over 10,000.

If you have been claiming less than that from your employer, HMRC will allow you to reclaim the difference from them.


For example, say you did 9,000 business miles in a tax year. Your employer allowed you to claim from them 30p per mile. Therefore your employer will have repaid you £2,700 (9,000 @ 30p)

HMRC will allow you to claim the missing 3,000 @ 15p from them, i.e. £450.

However, they do not repay to you the actual extra mileage claim amount. They only offset the claim amount (£450 in this case) against your taxable income, thereby reducing your tax bill. This would give you a tax refund for the relevant year.

If you are only a basic rate taxpayer, then your tax refund would be £450 @ 20% = £90

If you are a higher rate taxpayer, then your tax refund would be £450 @ 40% = £180

And if you are a top rate taxpayer, then your tax refund would be £450 @ 45% = £202.50

HMRC allows you to go back three tax years. We are currently in tax year 2016/17. If you made a claim now, you could claim for tax years 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16.

After 5 April 2017, 2013/14 would drop out.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

many thanks i shall look into it then

[AMDBSTony]

You can also claim an extra 5p/mile passenger payment if you have someone else in the car.

[eliot]

25p a mile is pretty low for a private car unfunded car. That rate is typical of someone who gets a car allowance payment.

[marcusgrant]

25p a mile, I'd tell them to get stuffed! Costing you to drive for work

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Oh i know its ste iirc company car rate is about 15p!

[Mattt]

It's easily done too, don't go paying people to do it for you.

I've seen a few agents popping up on Social Media who takes large cuts of the return.

[Gareth1974]

eliot said:

25p a mile is pretty low for a private car unfunded car. That rate is typical of someone who gets a car allowance payment.

How does it work when you do get an allowance or similar? My wife had a supposedly subsidised (s a very marginal discount) lease car, and the BIK was reduced in recognition of her sizable contribution towards the monthly cost. But she got a very modest mileage (12p) payment, would she be able to claim any differential between this and 45p?

[Mattt]

Not if it's a company car, fuel reimbursement only.

[bogie]

Gareth1974 said:

eliot said:

25p a mile is pretty low for a private car unfunded car. That rate is typical of someone who gets a car allowance payment.

How does it work when you do get an allowance or similar? My wife had a supposedly subsidised (s a very marginal discount) lease car, and the BIK was reduced in recognition of her sizable contribution towards the monthly cost. But she got a very modest mileage (12p) payment, would she be able to claim any differential between this and 45p?

I get an allowance and fuel paid. Claim the business mileage. Fuel paid is taxed as a benefit, mileage is claimed at HMRC rates of .45p for first 10K miles then .25p after. So essentially paying tax on personal fuel.

With an allowance and a lower rate than HMRC, you claim tax on the difference up to the max HMRC rates. You need to keep records of business miles done and claim in your tax return at year end.

[Mattt]

Car allowance is basically like salary and can be ignored for sake of fuel rates etc - you have a private car.

[Raddors]

HMRC doesn't reimburse the actual difference between what your employer sets as mileage and the standard approved rate. They only allow you to claim mileage allowance relief (MAF) which is just tax relief on the difference. If HMRC just topped up the difference between what every employer in the land decides to pay their staff and their approved rate, why would employers pay anything more than about 10p per mile??

[Gareth1974]

Mattt said:

Car allowance is basically like salary and can be ignored for sake of fuel rates etc - you have a private car.

In my wife's case, it's not a car allowance, but a subsidised lease (she's pays around 80% of the market rate). It's taxed like a company car (BIK), but at a rate which take account of her sizeable contribution. As she has this car, the company then only pay her 12p per mile on business. Is she able to claim MAF on this?

[Eric Mc]

Who is the car registered to?
Who's name is in the legal document i.e. the lease?