Business mileage rates - who can claim and how much does HMRC allow?

Setting up your company expense policy is extremely crucial. While your finance team needs to work on it, you must focus on different things. Managing work-related travel business expenses is one of the most important things.

Whether you are an employer or employee, it is very common for you to have questions about car mileage. Mileage claim rates are one of the companies’ best ways to lower their tax bills. If you have company cars, various tax-efficient savings can be made using HMRC fuel rates.

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What is the HMRC mileage allowance?

The car allowance mileage rates make it easier for the employees to claim their vehicle expenses back. However, they can only file the claim when they use the vehicle for business purposes. The rebate may go beyond the cost of petrol which may further cover the road tax, weathering and insurance.

The HMRC follows the pence per mile system, which may also be called the Mileage Allowance Payments. The business mileage deduction will be applicable for business deductions. The employee who uses their vehicle for business purposes can file for it.

The main reason for reimbursement is aligning with the latest business tax regulations. However, the business costs are not prone to tax. They can be deducted against the revenue to ensure no one is paying above the excessive level. If the business-related vehicle expense is taken from the personal allowance, the mileage allowance will eventually become tax-exempt.

HMRC introduced the scheme to simplify the matter. If this system wasn’t there, the companies might not be able to identify the costs for private cars. They will therefore need to calculate the costs individually. This will, in turn, take up a lot of time.

Business mileage rates - who can claim and how much does HMRC allow?
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Will the trips be eligible for tax-free mileage allowances?

There are certain conditions under which the trip will be eligible for a tax-free mileage allowance. The business must therefore meet the criteria. The HMRC identifies certain conditions when a trip will be identified to be related to business. These include:

  • The employee will need to visit other places for work apart from the workplace to get work done.
  • The work cannot be done if the trip is not made.
  • If any trip is made for personal purposes, it will not be considered a business. The trip’s primary purpose should be business and not just one or two of them.
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How to calculate the HMRC mileage allowance?

If you are using a personal vehicle for making trips, you should keep track of mileage. This will help to prevent things from getting messy. You must be familiar with the approved amount to keep a record. You must set the rules clearly so they can get valid tax-exempt reimbursements, which will be the approved amount.

You can check the official working sheet of HMRC to be familiar with the mileage allowance. The company will not cover the full approved amount. The employees must apply for the Mileage Allowance Relief to receive the unpaid part.

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Important things to know about HMRC business mileage rates

When calculating the amount for mileage payments, you should be familiar with the basics. Given below are some of the most important things that you need to know about the HMRC business mileage rates:

  • MAPs will help to cover wear and year, road tolls and car insurance. It will further be covered as per the rates.
  • The rates will not cover parking or VAT. It will cover the business travel expenses that can be claimed.
  • The employee will be eligible for claim tax relief when the employer pays less than the acclaimed HMRC rate. However, they must be familiar with the difference between the two rates.
  • The employers can get reimbursed employees for the higher rate. Therefore, the higher amount will be eligible for tax claiming.
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Can a company set a different mileage allowance in the UK?

The HMRC has already set the mileage allowance rates. However, these rates may differ from company to company. It also depends on how the company aims to pay back its colleagues.

If the company pays for a lower rate, the employee can apply for mileage allowance relief per the rules of HMRC for the difference in rates. You must understand the difference for which you will be claiming the per mile difference.

In some cases, the company may choose to reimburse more than what HMRC allows. Therefore, the extra amount that is paid to the company will eventually become eligible for taxation. All companies must provide guidelines to the employees so they can use their vehicles for work purposes accordingly. As companies, you must have a regular system for reimbursing the employees.

DNS-Accountants

Important things to know about HMRC business mileage rates

When calculating the amount for mileage payments, you should be familiar with the basics. Given below are some of the most important things that you need to know about the HMRC business mileage rates:

  • MAPs will help to cover wear and year, road tolls and car insurance. It will further be covered as per the rates.
  • The rates will not cover parking or VAT. It will cover the business travel expenses that can be claimed.
  • The employee will be eligible for claim tax relief when the employer pays less than the acclaimed HMRC rate. However, they must be familiar with the difference between the two rates.
  • The employers can get reimbursed employees for the higher rate. Therefore, the higher amount will be eligible for tax claiming.
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HMRC advisory fuel rates

The mileage allowance is applicable only for employee-owned vehicles. However, the cars owned by the company usually fall under different regulations. According to the HMRC Advisory fuel rates, the company car category will further fall under two different conditions. These include:

Employees use the company car for personal purposes and are liable for paying the company.

When the employees want reimbursement for business travel costs while using the company car, it will include paying for fuel via their credit card.

The company car fuel rate will be challenging to calculate compared to the HMRC mileage allowance, which is eventually reviewed for three months. It will further depend on the actual fees and the year’s progress. The businesses can rely on the previous rates for at least a month to switch to the current rates.

The HMRC fuel rate will be calculated depending on different factors like current fuel prices, engine size, and mean and adjusted miles per gallon.

Conclusion

It can be difficult for you to keep track of the refund of the HMRC. A mileage log book is advisable to ensure things aren't too complicated. It would help if you recorded the things concerning the date, purpose, total points, destination and start point. You need to keep a record of these as these will come in handy during the yearly submission tax date. You may need to show these during the inspection procedure. You may also use a centralised platform to manage the mileage allowances.

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