paul-kingMileage claims - are you claiming the right tax relief for your mileage?
Claiming the right amount of tax relief for your business mileage could be saving you hundreds of pounds each year.
Although there are several things you must be aware of, maximising your claim will really just require a combination of good discipline and proper organisation. Here’s how you do it:
Firstly, you will need to find out your country’s Approved mileage rate
In the UK, there are 2 sets of rates depending on the total number of miles you have travelled in any given tax year:
For 0 - 10,000 miles, these rates are:
- 40p / mile - cars and vans
- 24p / mile - motorcycles
- 20p / mile - bicycles
After 10,000 miles, this goes down to:
- 25p / mile - cars and cans
- 24p / mile - motorcycles
- 20p / mile - bicycles
I have to admit that I laughed the first time I saw this table, kudos to whoever travels more than 10,000 business miles on a bicycle in a year :) I want to meet that guy!
Calculated over an entire year, this could add up to a tidy sum, particularly if you or your staff are often out on the road visiting clients.
The next step now that you know your Approved Mileage Rates is to get in the habit of recording your business trips. - naturally we would recommend 1DayLater for this ;-)
The things you will need to record are:
- Distance travelled (remember to check your cars speedometer before and after you make a trip)
- Reason for the trip and who you visited - you will only be able to reclaim mileage for business-related trips so this is really important.
- Date of journey
And if you’re lucky enough to have an accountant then that’s it….they should deal with everything else….simply hand over your mileage log or 1DayLater mileage claim and relax. Lovely!
