Mileage claim for running a GS for work journeys.

brianmaslen

brianmaslen

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Can anyone direct me to a source of information, or forward something that shows the average/combined/motorway fuel consumption for a 2006 1200GS please. I get a car alowance from work and petrol repaid at 15p per mile for using the car, but one of our bean counters has decided that as I use my bike occassionally for travel to the office it could be viewed as fraud for me to claim 15ppm. Apparently they think my bike does 80mpg so they want to pay me 5ppm. I only use the bike to knock my journey down by 45 minutes each way, 198 mile round trip!
 
I don't have the figures you need, but you might want to explain to them that your bike will consume tyres much more quickly than a car and need more frequent servicing. So the true running costs are likely to be higher than a car.
 
My employer pays me 24 pence per mile whenever I use my bike against 40 pence for the car. Surely it's not just the petrol they should be covering but also increased depreciation, wear and tear & consumables.
Tell them to stop being such tightwads!
 
I use my bike for business occasionally and my accountant tells me I can claim 20 ppm for the bike as opposed to 40 ppm for the car.

I`m sure this is the standard allowance for tax:thumb

80mpg :eek: What planet are they on:nenau Probably best to show them the BMW official figures.
 
These bean counters have no idea, they just say claim the difference back against your tax code, which of course is what I do with the car. I do get a car allowance each month for running costs etc so this is just to cover petrol. But I work for a French company and of course in Paris half the staff ride scooters so they base our rates on those. I tried explaining that the running costs are high but all I get is why don't you use the car then. Now if I were to use a car that was super efficient and did 75mpg they wouldnt care less...or would they? My main reason of course for the bike, apart from the enjoyment is speed of travel and traffic avoidance. As for tyre wear that's difficult to explain as I just replaced the tyres on my car and they cost £950 and i only got 11k out of the rears and 21k from the fronts. So if anyone has the official figures in "print" i'd appreciate a copy, tried the BMW website and can't find them.
 
IIRC the Inland Revenue allowable payment for using a motorcycle is 24ppm. I don't think there is a break point in the same way that it is 40ppm for cars for the first 10k and then 25ppm after that.

These of course are the maximum tax free figures, if they pay more than that the difference is taxable.
 
In the GS booklet from BMW they gives a fuel consumption at a constant speed of 90kmph=4.3l per 100km & 120kmph=5.5l per 100km. Remember that is at a constant speed on a level road thus you would expect that your fuel consumption would be great. Since these are official published figures you should have no problem.

The 120kmph one gives a consumption of 51mpg, that is about what I get.
 
However there is another point.

If you are commuting to your permanent place of work then you should be paying tax on the amount of money that you are claiming for mileage otherwise it really is fraud, well tax evasion.
 
Andrew and Sockpuppet are spot on the tax situation.

I think the OP was asking purely about fuel costs rather than any other costs. In which case 10ppm give or take a bit is going to be pretty close to the mark. (£1 per litre, 45mpg). Reality should be better than that (90ppl, 50mpg is just over 8ppm).
 
Official government rates for cars are here, and it explains how they are calculated ..

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cars/advisory_fuel_current.htm

There does not seem to be the same thing for bikes, but the mpg is not that different, and the insurance, servicing and tyre wear etc.. are probably more!

e.g. my BMW 320D does over 50mpg and is serviced every 18,000 miles, whereas the GS is serviced every 6,000 miles.

I would expect to get the car rate at least.
 
15p per mile is an insult - even of a bicycle!

I would suggest that you're being ripped off as 15p in no way covers the cost of you using your own car.
 
Davel said:
15p per mile is an insult - even of a bicycle!

I would suggest that you're being ripped off as 15p in no way covers the cost of you using your own car.
Click to expand...

He is not just getting 15p per mile.

He also gets a car allowance that pays for insurance, depreciation etc.
 
Davel said:
15p per mile is an insult - even of a bicycle!

I would suggest that you're being ripped off as 15p in no way covers the cost of you using your own car.
Click to expand...

you can claim 20p / mile on a bicycle
 
brianmaslen said:
Can anyone direct me to a source of information, or forward something that shows the average/combined/motorway fuel consumption for a 2006 1200GS please. I get a car alowance from work and petrol repaid at 15p per mile for using the car, but one of our bean counters has decided that as I use my bike occassionally for travel to the office it could be viewed as fraud for me to claim 15ppm. Apparently they think my bike does 80mpg so they want to pay me 5ppm. I only use the bike to knock my journey down by 45 minutes each way, 198 mile round trip!
Click to expand...

When (If) you complete your tax return make sure you claim the difference between the 15p/mile your company pays and the 40p/mile the government allows. You will get the tax back on 25p/mile which can be a tidy sum if you do enough miles. I got a big fat cheque for £600 the first time I did it

There is a pretty good revenue booklet called "Using your own car for work" that explains it.

Rob
 
robb said:
When (If) you complete your tax return make sure you claim the difference between the 15p/mile your company pays and the 40p/mile the government allows. You will get the tax back on 25p/mile which can be a tidy sum if you do enough miles. I got a big fat cheque for £600 the first time I did it

There is a pretty good revenue booklet called "Using your own car for work" that explains it.

Rob
Click to expand...

Maybe brianmaslen can clarify what he is claiming for here, and whether the company / job is in the UK or in France for taxation purposes. If the mileage is to and from the office in the UK, this is not tax deductible and so no claim can be made. In fact, most likely even the 15 ppm paid would be a taxable benefit.
 
If it is a permanent place of work you cannot claim tax back, if you are visiting or will be there for less than 24 months you can claim back tax as it is to/from a temporary place of work :rob
 
Thanks for all the comments chaps, I should clarify one or two points I think.
Firstly I work for a French company but have an office based in the UK, however I am "home based" on my employment agreement so travel to and from work or client site is a legitimate claim.
Secondly I do indeed get a car allowance of £600 per month in addition to the 15ppm refund for petrol. We are also encouraged to reclaim the difference between the mileage paid by the company and the 40/25p per mile from the tax man (depending on mileage over the year). Though strictly speaking i'm not sure this is correct as we get the car allowance which is taxed as part of our pay.
In putting forward my argument to the company they have relented and agreed a rate of 9.5 ppm, possibly just enough to cover the fuel costs as its 88p per litre round here. The conversation went a little further with my FD when I pointed out that if I could buy a car that would do 70mpg they would not adjust my rate at all so surely that would be misuseing the system, at which point he told me to go and do that instead! Thought it best to accept the adjustment at this point rather than making an enemy of the man who authorises my salary and bonus payments! Of course it means that I have to do a separate claim for the bike use now and record accurately which vehicle I use for work.
Anyway thanks for all the help and stimulating discussion folks.
 
If the £600 is fully taxed, then it is just the mileage rate to offset against the 40/25 ppm.

The proper calculation would be

Income
£600 less £200 (tax) = £400 x 12 = £4,800
mileage for 15,000 miles x 9.5ppm = £1,425
total for year = £6,225

IR Allowance

10,000 miles x 40ppm = £4,000
5,000 miles x 25ppm = £1,250
total allowance = £5,250

income £6,225 less allowance of £5,250 = £975 taxable at 25% of 40%
:ronno
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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