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Replies

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  Andy Westacott December 4, 2010 at 10:06pm

  Not massively helpful no as I don't use an accountant! Aside from this issue my books are very straightforward and I have other resources I can normally use to answer any queries.
  
  And if I did it wouldn't necessarily be a man.
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  neil gurner December 4, 2010 at 10:14pm

  for what its worth, my accounts ive been booking 48p a mile, which when i was on site added up to several grand per year, but now my work is all local i am probably losing a fortune on the amount ive actually spent on tyres, batteries, mot repairs etc, so basically depends on the kind of mileage you do.
  48p covers all expences, wear n tear and everything, so if you go that route thats all you get.
  as for vehicle lease, i would assume that would be a business expence which ever route you take.
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  Andy Westacott December 4, 2010 at 10:18pm

  cheers Neil.
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  Dan Frazer Gardening December 4, 2010 at 10:32pm

  If you get audited you'll get a severely smacked hand for claiming 48p per mile; you should use the tax office standard cost of 40p.
  
  In the case of a lease vehicle, without a purchase outlay, I believe you should use actual cost rather than mileage.
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  lisa skipton December 4, 2010 at 11:10pm

  my accountant takes off 20 percent of my total cost as personal use. for me this is the easiest method as I would never remember to note down the mileage daily. I think 20 percent for personal use is actualy a bit high but that seems to be the accountancy norm
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  Andy Westacott December 4, 2010 at 11:14pm

  Thanks Lisa, I was looking at taking off 30% for personal use based on using the truck for roughly 5 out 7 days a week for business, so that's interesting.
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  Mark Brierley December 5, 2010 at 5:29pm

  you can only claim in this fashion if the vehicle belongs to you personally and not the company.
  if the company is paying for it you cant claim 48p per mile. also you can only claim 48p per mile on so many miles and then the amount has to drop.
  
  neil gurner said:

  for what its worth, my accounts ive been booking 48p a mile, which when i was on site added up to several grand per year, but now my work is all local i am probably losing a fortune on the amount ive actually spent on tyres, batteries, mot repairs etc, so basically depends on the kind of mileage you do.
  48p covers all expences, wear n tear and everything, so if you go that route thats all you get.
  as for vehicle lease, i would assume that would be a business expence which ever route you take.
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  Mark Brierley December 5, 2010 at 5:30pm

  get an accountant if your trading as a sle trader they will save you money and it wont cost you a fortune...
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk December 5, 2010 at 8:44pm

  does that include fuel / every vehicle cost : tax, ins, mots / service ??
  
  Dan Frazer Gardening said:

  If you get audited you'll get a severely smacked hand for claiming 48p per mile; you should use the tax office standard cost of 40p.
  
  In the case of a lease vehicle, without a purchase outlay, I believe you should use actual cost rather than mileage.
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  Donny Bryan December 6, 2010 at 9:00am

  Don't know the position on leased vehicles as it doesn't apply to us.
  
  If you don't have an accountant it's much easier to use the actual cost for a sole trader - with correct proportion deducted for personal use if that's an issue. For us it isn't as we have a van for work and a car for personal. Actual cost includes all your costs so tax, insurance, breakdown, mot, service, fuel, oil, screen wash... you get the picture.
  
  I was once told that if you used the mileage allowance that you needed to keep a record of mileage for every job. That sounded like a lot of effort to Mrs B so she opted for the actual cost.
  
  Try giving the online helpline a call - they have always been really helpful.