Self-Employed Petrol Expenses in UK: Mileage Claim
What is mileage allowance?
Mileage allowance is a tax benefit offered to employees who commute regularly to work. If you are eligible for this benefit, you can deduct up to £2,500 from your taxable income each year. This is known as’mileage allowance’ because the amount you can claim depends on the number of miles you travel for work purposes.
Claiming mileage allowance is easy – just fill out HMRC Form D4 and attach it to your self assessment return. You don’t need to record every mile you drive for work; you simply need to show that you meet certain conditions.
There are three main ways you can qualify for mileage allowance:
1. You must be employed by another person or organisation, and earn less than £10,500 a year.
2. You must be employed full time, and earn less than the national living wage.
3. You must be employed part time, and earn less that £8,105 a year.
You can use the same vehicle for commuting to work as long as you’re allowed to do so. However, you cannot claim mileage allowance if your employer provides you with a car or van.
How much mileage reimbursement can be claimed?
Self-employed people can claim a distance allowance based on how many kilometres they drive. This includes journeys taken for work purposes. As long as you drive for work purposes, you can claim a mileage allowance.
People working for themselves can claim mileage allowance for any vehicles used for work purposes. For example, if you run a taxi firm, you could claim mileage allowance for taxis that you use for work purposes. However, if you take someone else along with you, you cannot claim mileage allowance for that person.
If you take another person along, you can claim an additional 5 pence per mile for each additional passenger. So, if you travel with three passengers, you can claim 25 pence per mile.
Mileage allowance is an additional payment that is given to employees who work outside normal working hours. Employees can claim mileage allowance even if they don’t drive or fly anywhere. They can still claim mileage allowance if they are travelling for work purposes. For instance, if you work as a doctor, you can still claim mileage allowance for commuting to hospital appointments.
You can claim mileage allowance if your employer pays you a salary. In this case, it doesn’t matter whether you drive or not – you can always claim mileage allowance. However, if you receive commission payments, you won’t be able to claim mileage allowance unless you drive or fly somewhere.
When cannot mileage reimbursement be claimed?
There are three ways you can claim mileage allowance – either from your home to your normal place of work, or from your home to where you spend most of your time, such as your office, or from your temporary workplace to your home. However, there’s one catch – you cannot claim mileage allowance for trips between your home and your regular place of work, nor can you claim it for trips between your home or your office and your temporary workplace.
The rules governing mileage allowances apply to both public transport and private vehicles. If you travel by train, bus or taxi, you can claim mileage allowance for up to 20 miles per journey. This includes trips taken within London. For journeys outside London, you can claim mileage for up to 50 miles.
If you drive a vehicle for hire, you can claim mileage based on how far you drive each day. If you drive for less than eight hours a week, you can claim £0.50 per mile; if you drive for eight hours or more, you can claim £1.00 per mile.
For journeys involving a combination of road and rail, you can claim mileage according to whichever mode of transport takes longer. So, if you take a train from A to B and a bus from B to C, you can claim mileage on the bus route. But if you take a train and a bus from A to B, you can claim mileage only on the bus route.
You can claim mileage allowance for journeys between different parts of your home town, and between your home town and other places you regularly go. You can also claim mileage for journeys between your home town and your office or temporary workplace.
However, you cannot claim mileage allowance if you commute via another part of the same town. Nor can you claim mileage for trips between your home town and a different town.
Three example mileage allowance claims
The government announced plans to introduce a new system of mileage allowances for private hire vehicles in April 2018. Private hire companies will be able to claim mileage expenses for trips up to £2,500 per journey. This includes journeys within London, where the cost of driving around the capital is high.
Mileage allowances are based on a driver’s length of service, the type of vehicle used, annual distance driven and the number of passengers transported. A passenger is defined as anyone under 16 years old unless otherwise stated.
There is a maximum amount of cash available for each person travelling. For every mile travelled, the driver must pay a fixed charge of £1.50 plus 20p per mile. Drivers can also claim additional amounts for fuel costs and wear and tear on the vehicle.
Calculating mileage allowances is easy – just use our calculator to work out what your trip will cost. You can find it here.
Working out your business mileage
Business mileage claims are one of the most common expenses incurred by self-employed people. But it can be difficult to know exactly what you’re entitled to claim. Many small businesses use apps such as Mileage Tracker to track their business miles. However, there are some things to consider before logging your business mileage.
How to claim mileage allowance
Claiming mileage allowance is straightforward. You just need to know how to do it properly. Here are some tips to help you out.
1. Use good accounting software. This includes having a system that allows you to track expenses and record mileage claims.
2. Keep proper records. Make sure you keep receipts of everything you spend money on, including gas, toll roads, parking fees, etc.
3. Don’t double count trips. For example, if you take a trip home from work and another one to pick up kids from school, don’t include both miles in one trip.
4. Be consistent. Track your mileage every month, even if you travel less frequently.
5. Know the rules. Some states allow you to claim mileage based on the distance traveled, while others limit mileage to the number of miles driven. Check your state’s tax code to find out what you can claim.
6. Report your mileage accurately. Your accountant can assist you in determining whether you qualify for mileage allowance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I bring someone along on a work trip?
If your employer pays you for transporting passengers, it could be worth considering whether you are eligible for mileage expenses. For example, if you work for a large multinational corporation and travel around the world five days a week, you might be entitled to claim a deduction for every mile travelled on business. This includes trips taken in your personal car, even if you do not earn enough money to cover the cost of petrol.
However, there are some rules you need to follow. You must be employed by a UK-registered limited company or registered charity and you must transport a passenger for business purposes. In addition, you cannot earn more than £5,500 a year from carrying passengers and you must pay yourself no more than £5 per mile.
The passenger must also be an “employee” – i.e., someone working for another person or organisation. They must also be an ‘eligible passenger’ – meaning they are not paying you for the trip. However, if the passenger is your spouse or civil partner, they are treated as an employee and therefore qualify for the exemption.
You must also ensure that the passenger does not receive any payment for travelling with you. If they do, you cannot claim any expense deductions for the trip.
In practice, if you are earning less than £5 per mile, it is unlikely that you will be able to claim any mileage allowances. But if you are earning more than £5 per hour (i.e., more than £5,000 a year), you may well find that claiming mileage allowances makes sense.
How do I calculate any NIC owed on my automobile expenses?
If you are self-employed, you must claim business mileage for each trip you take away from home. This includes trips to clients, suppliers, contractors, etc.
The amount of business driving you do varies depending on whether you run a one-, two- or three-person operation. Business mileage rates vary according to where you live and how far you travel.
You can find out what your business mileage rates are by contacting HMRC. They publish information about the different types of businesses and the rates applicable to those businesses.
Once you know your business mileage rates, you can calculate the total number of approved hours worked for the year. You multiply this figure by the appropriate business mileage rate to determine the total approved payment.
This is known as your approved payment.
Your employer should make an adjustment to your salary and collect the NIC due on your wages.
