x - mileage allowance

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Sat 2 May 2020 08:20
x - mileage allowance - loulou91

Just wondering, as a self emplyed car trader, who is very low level, when i put in my accounts, what am i allowed to claim for in regard to vehicles? Of course i understand re anything i need to do to any vehicle, but, myself, i travel 15 miles too and from work and if i need to come home for anything double that....just wondering whats allowed?

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Sat 2 May 2020 09:07
x - mileage allowance - SLO76
Travel to and from work in a car won’t be allowed but any fuel, labour, interest, parts or equipment used for trading will be. Anything you put in a stock car or anything you use to get it down the road. A commercial vehicle will be fully tax deductible as will the fuel you put in it if you claim it is used for business purposes only. I miss having a wee van, it saved me a fortune over the years but then I was VAT registered. Buy a good one at the right money and it’ll save you cash and be very useful.

You can even claim a percentage of your mortgage interest as tax deductible if you say that you use a room in your house as an office or for storage. I did as a newsagent and a trader. Doesn’t save you much but every little helps.

But rules change year to year so it’s best to let an account do your books year to year. They’ll charge you but they’ll find ways to save a buck or two and if you use a chartered accountant it’s rare the tax man will come after you. I never seen or heard from them in twenty years of trading.
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Sat 2 May 2020 11:53
x - mileage allowance - loulou91

i do use a van, what can i claim? i always use a van

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Sat 2 May 2020 15:42
x - mileage allowance - SLO76

i do use a van, what can i claim? i always use a van

When I had a van the full cost of the vehicle and all running costs including fuel were claimed but I did have a car too so could say that personal mileage was on that. A van is full tax deductible but remember when selling it they’ll expect the vat on the sale so be careful how you sell it if you’re vat registered.
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Sat 2 May 2020 12:01
x - mileage allowance - gordonbennet
They’ll charge you but they’ll find ways to save a buck or two and if you use a chartered accountant it’s rare the tax man will come after you. I never seen or heard from them in twenty years of trading.

Sorry to be flippant, but thats just triggered a memory, can anyone remember which comedian did the TV sketches and in one sketch by mistake entered a dodgy turf acountants office instead of the chartered sort he was supposed to be visiting, much confusion followed.

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Sat 2 May 2020 12:26
x - mileage allowance - Terry W

Be wary of claiming any house expenses against the business. There is a risk that if/when you finally come to sell the property, the proportion that you are claiming as a business expense may make you liable for capital gains tax.

This would of course depend on the value of the property when you started to claim costs against tax, the value when it was sold, and any capital gains tax exemptions. Probably not a consideration for smaller lower value properties, but if you are sitting in a £m pile, the tax could be material.

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Sat 2 May 2020 15:39
x - mileage allowance - SLO76

Be wary of claiming any house expenses against the business. There is a risk that if/when you finally come to sell the property, the proportion that you are claiming as a business expense may make you liable for capital gains tax.

This would of course depend on the value of the property when you started to claim costs against tax, the value when it was sold, and any capital gains tax exemptions. Probably not a consideration for smaller lower value properties, but if you are sitting in a £m pile, the tax could be material.

Don’t think that counts if it’s your main residence but I’m no expert here.
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