Claiming for business use of own car or van

If you are an employee, you may be able to claim tax relief for using your own vehicle, be it a car, van, motorcycle or bike. There is generally no tax relief for travel to and from your place of work. The rules are different for temporary workplaces where the expense is usually allowable and if you use your own vehicle to undertake other business-related mileage.

Employers usually make payments based on a set rate per mile depending on the mode of transport used. There are approved mileage rates published by HMRC. The approved mileage allowance payment rates are available where you use your own car on a business trip. Where the approved mileage rates are used, the payments to you are not regarded as a taxable benefit.

Where an employer pays less than the published rates, the employee can make a claim for the shortfall using mileage allowance relief. For all cars and vans the approved mileage allowance payment for the first 10,000 business miles is 45p per mile and 25p per mile for every additional business mile. The approved mileage rates are 20p per mile for bicycle travel and 24p per mile for motorcycle travel.

There is an additional passenger payment you can receive of 5p per passenger per business mile from your employer. This is available if you carry fellow employees in your car or van on journeys which are also work journeys for your colleagues. 

Source: HM Revenue & Customs Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0100

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Breaking even – checking the numbers

In previous newsfeeds we have described how you can calculate the level of turnover you need to create in order to meet all your costs whether they be fixed costs (rent, rates etc.,) or variable costs (goods you need to buy to convert into goods you sell).

For example, if your fixed costs are £50,000 per annum and your variable costs are 25% of your turnover, the annual turnover you need to breakeven will be £200,000. The formula is:

Annual fixed costs divided by 25 (the gross profit)

Bereavement Support Payment

The amount of Bereavement Support Payment you can claim will depend on your relationship to the person who died and when you make your claim.

Your payments will be paid into your bank, building society or credit union account.

If you were married or in a registered civil partnership with the person who died

If you were receiving Child Benefit when your partner died (or did not get it but were entitled to it), you will get the higher rate.

This is made up of:

a first payment of £3,500;

Tax codes for employees

The P9X form is used to notify employers of the tax codes to use for employees. The latest version of the form has been published and shows the tax codes to use from 6 April 2023. The form states that the basic personal allowance for the tax year starting 6 April 2023 will, as expected, be £12,570 (£12,570 in 2022-23) and this means that the tax code for emergency use will remain at 1257L.

The basic rate limit will be £37,700 (£37,700 in 2022-23) except for those defined as Scottish taxpayers

Properties not let at commercial rates

There are special rules where a property is let at less than a commercial rate or isn’t let on commercial terms. These rules also apply if a property is occupied rent free or at less than a commercial rate, for example, a property is occupied by a family member at a reduced or nil rent.

In these circumstances, HMRC can take the view that unless the landlord charges a full market rent for a property and imposes normal market lease conditions, it is unlikely that the expenses of the property are

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