company Astra or £350 allowance
Discussion
Hi there
I'd welcome some advice. Currently got 2014 astra 1.7 diesel 130PS. Car is quite basic nothing too fancy, car comes with fuel car.
Would you take allowance and sort out personal contract, maybe even save some money or get better car for same/little bit more? annual mileage is 25-30K.
I'd appreciate your views
many thanks
I'd welcome some advice. Currently got 2014 astra 1.7 diesel 130PS. Car is quite basic nothing too fancy, car comes with fuel car.
Would you take allowance and sort out personal contract, maybe even save some money or get better car for same/little bit more? annual mileage is 25-30K.
I'd appreciate your views
many thanks
If you get made redundant - and you have taken out a PCP etc for your own car. - You are saddled with it.
If you take the company car- then you just hand it back.
If you break down going to work in a company car - For HR purposes - you are not late. You will be late if our own car breaks down.
The £350 allowance isn't pensionable income - ( A £350 per month salary increase is though - which is better for the long term ) It is still taxable though.
So Your £350 is going to decrease a chunk. If you are in the 40% bracket - £350 gives you £210 to play with. Not a lot.
Big question is : Do you need a car to see customers etc? Or is it just a perk?
If you take the company car- then you just hand it back.
If you break down going to work in a company car - For HR purposes - you are not late. You will be late if our own car breaks down.
The £350 allowance isn't pensionable income - ( A £350 per month salary increase is though - which is better for the long term ) It is still taxable though.
So Your £350 is going to decrease a chunk. If you are in the 40% bracket - £350 gives you £210 to play with. Not a lot.
Big question is : Do you need a car to see customers etc? Or is it just a perk?
I am kind of also in this position, although the company car is not an option.
From looking around I wish a company car was an option, removes all the headache of thinking what car, plus when looking at leasing and putting your miles in cost loads more.
Company car all the way.
Then maybe a weekend toy
From looking around I wish a company car was an option, removes all the headache of thinking what car, plus when looking at leasing and putting your miles in cost loads more.
Company car all the way.
Then maybe a weekend toy
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/leasing/search/_/lea...
just as a quick search, probably wont get anything particularly great. just have a look on lease sites and set milage/price etc
just as a quick search, probably wont get anything particularly great. just have a look on lease sites and set milage/price etc
No. Basically.
I run my own car for work, albeit only covering 16K approx. per annum. I don't get an allowance only the HMRC mileage rate (company car not an option for me it would seem although it has been for others who subsequently started). I spend around £250 per month in fuel alone, then factor in tyres, servicing and insurance then add depreciation not to mention any 'additional' issues which do crop up. Do your sums in this regard as to what you would need monthly to cover your costs and it'll frighten you.
In short £210 won't even cover your maintenance and insurance. Take the company car
I run my own car for work, albeit only covering 16K approx. per annum. I don't get an allowance only the HMRC mileage rate (company car not an option for me it would seem although it has been for others who subsequently started). I spend around £250 per month in fuel alone, then factor in tyres, servicing and insurance then add depreciation not to mention any 'additional' issues which do crop up. Do your sums in this regard as to what you would need monthly to cover your costs and it'll frighten you.
In short £210 won't even cover your maintenance and insurance. Take the company car
Other things to take into account OP (Off the top of my head)
Is the allowance pensionable?
Is the allowance used in overtime calculations?
Is the allowance used in and bonus calculations?
Is the allowance used in wage increase calculations?
Is the allowance fixed or will it increase? I bet that the Astra, will be costing your company a shedload more in lease costs per month!
Will you always be doing as many miles?
Can you opt out if circumstances change?
Can you bin the fuel card, and get paid per miles, bearing in mind that you can claim a value back from HMGOV if you are paid under their rate.
Do you have kids, remember that if you start earning 50K + then HMGOV will be having some child benefit back.
You will pay a portion of the allowance in NI (I think)
All food for thought. I opted out more than a decade ago, and ended up on a "grandfathered" car scheme where most of the above apply. New employees get few of the benefits mentioned. (And as of yet I just cannot put up with a generic VAG, as that is the best our company seems to offer at the moment)
Let us know how you get on please.
Is the allowance pensionable?
Is the allowance used in overtime calculations?
Is the allowance used in and bonus calculations?
Is the allowance used in wage increase calculations?
Is the allowance fixed or will it increase? I bet that the Astra, will be costing your company a shedload more in lease costs per month!
Will you always be doing as many miles?
Can you opt out if circumstances change?
Can you bin the fuel card, and get paid per miles, bearing in mind that you can claim a value back from HMGOV if you are paid under their rate.
Do you have kids, remember that if you start earning 50K + then HMGOV will be having some child benefit back.
You will pay a portion of the allowance in NI (I think)
All food for thought. I opted out more than a decade ago, and ended up on a "grandfathered" car scheme where most of the above apply. New employees get few of the benefits mentioned. (And as of yet I just cannot put up with a generic VAG, as that is the best our company seems to offer at the moment)
Let us know how you get on please.
to answer your questions
Is the allowance pensionable?
not sure -all i'm told is will get 4200 p/a on my salary (350p/m)
Is the allowance used in overtime calculations?
not applicable to my job
Is the allowance used in and bonus calculations?
no
Is the allowance used in wage increase calculations?
no
Is the allowance fixed or will it increase? I bet that the Astra, will be costing your company a shedload more in lease costs per month!
fixed
Will you always be doing as many miles?
30k p/a
Can you opt out if circumstances change?
not sure
Can you bin the fuel card, and get paid per miles, bearing in mind that you can claim a value back from HMGOV if you are paid under their rate.
not sure - i'm being charged 15p per mile for personal use
Do you have kids, remember that if you start earning 50K + then HMGOV will be having some child benefit back.
yes
thanks for your comments so far
Is the allowance pensionable?
not sure -all i'm told is will get 4200 p/a on my salary (350p/m)
Is the allowance used in overtime calculations?
not applicable to my job
Is the allowance used in and bonus calculations?
no
Is the allowance used in wage increase calculations?
no
Is the allowance fixed or will it increase? I bet that the Astra, will be costing your company a shedload more in lease costs per month!
fixed
Will you always be doing as many miles?
30k p/a
Can you opt out if circumstances change?
not sure
Can you bin the fuel card, and get paid per miles, bearing in mind that you can claim a value back from HMGOV if you are paid under their rate.
not sure - i'm being charged 15p per mile for personal use
Do you have kids, remember that if you start earning 50K + then HMGOV will be having some child benefit back.
yes
thanks for your comments so far
Yes, I agree with the assessments above. With your annual mileage vs your allowance, you will not be able to do any better if you source your own car.
For that category of car I find the Golf is a nice place to be. You may be able to push your employer to get you a 3 series BMW. However, you will get into thorny and emotive discussions about having "premium cars" and what your customers will make of that.
Good luck
For that category of car I find the Golf is a nice place to be. You may be able to push your employer to get you a 3 series BMW. However, you will get into thorny and emotive discussions about having "premium cars" and what your customers will make of that.
Good luck
Taking the allowance also gives you the benefit in kind tax back too. The value of this depends on the list price of the car and the emissions of the car. Often this then brings your allowance close to the pre tax value, I.e £350 per month to spend on the car.
You will however, have to take into consideration the cost of insurance, maintenance VED, tyres, depreciation
For your mileage, I would stay with the scheme.
You will however, have to take into consideration the cost of insurance, maintenance VED, tyres, depreciation
For your mileage, I would stay with the scheme.
User33678888 said:
It's gotta be a company car at that sort of mileage. TBH I'd become suicidal quickly if spending 2 hours or more each day in an underpowered Astra. Can you afford to spend some of your own cash on getting something better?
130ps is hardly underpowered I have a golf bluemotion with 110bhp and it will easily do 90mph all day longA friend has a 1.7 diesel Astra and used as a tool, it's brilliant.
It's not overly quick but it doesn't struggle to keep up and it's pretty quiet.
How much of the 30k per year can you claim back as business mileage?
If it's 20k then you could potentially add £6,500 per year to that total if it's your own car however, less maybe £2,400 for the fuel. If it's 5k then you can still claim £2,000 less £600 for the fuel you will actually be spending.
You'd also have to add on the company car tax you won't be paying, as well as taking off the tax on salary.
If you give an idea of those figures it will help to determine if you're better off with cash or car. In general though the longer your commute, and the higher your tax rate, the better off you will be with a company car.
It's not overly quick but it doesn't struggle to keep up and it's pretty quiet.
How much of the 30k per year can you claim back as business mileage?
If it's 20k then you could potentially add £6,500 per year to that total if it's your own car however, less maybe £2,400 for the fuel. If it's 5k then you can still claim £2,000 less £600 for the fuel you will actually be spending.
You'd also have to add on the company car tax you won't be paying, as well as taking off the tax on salary.
If you give an idea of those figures it will help to determine if you're better off with cash or car. In general though the longer your commute, and the higher your tax rate, the better off you will be with a company car.
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