# Help Tax Question



## ivor (Sep 24, 2008)

Right this is not help for me it's for my brother in law,He's getting letters from the tax man saying they are changing his tax code as he has underpaid it for the year and he earns more than 40K ,The problem is he works for a company on PAYE now the reason the taxman is giving for the higher wage is that he is claiming for a company van and the fuel ,The fuel he gets is put on the company card and the Van belongs to the company he works for so any ideas how this is possible?

His base rate of earning is 28K overtime has taken him to 36K as he does on average a 17hr Personally I think the company is on the fiddle as this is happening to a few of his colleagues so please any advice appreciated :thumb:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Van and fuel are both classed as a benefit in kind...if he takes it home at night...

So you are taxed on it...

:thumb:


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## ivor (Sep 24, 2008)

that makes sense ,The tax man always finds a way to screw you over


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## dsolds (Feb 13, 2008)

The BIK on company vehicles and company fuel is very clear. You CAN take the van home if you go to customer site to perform your work (as opposed to going to the office/depot first) and you go straight there from home.
BUT, if you do one single mile in that vehicle which is not for work then you have to pay the tax on it for the whole year. Mileage to and from a regular place of work is considered to be private mileage for these purposes.

The law is very clear on this and well documented on HMRC website. The alternative is to leave the van at a works depot and drive home in your own car, thus avoiding any issues. For example, HGV drivers do not get taxed on having a company truck but they don't take it home. What has to be proved is that the employee in question is not getting a free ride to and from an office in a company owned van. 

If it is in the best interest of the company for the employee to take it home then it is not taxable as a BIK, and again, this has to be provable, not just that the company doesn't want to leave vans outside their depot overnight. There needs to be a valid business reason such as mentioned above, e.g. Double Glazing fitters. They would normally load the van up the previous evening and travel straight to the job, returning to the depot before knocking off time so they can load up for the following day. That's fine. What is not fine is using the van to get to and from work for no other reason than it's free company fuel.

The best way to describe this is to say think about it. Are you trying to justify having the van at home so you can benefit in some other way? If you need to find (invent) reasons then the chances are it's not legal. Genuine reasons are obvious both to HMRC and employees alike. 

If you can present a genuine reason to HMRC then it's never an issue. They do understand that certain people need to keep their company vehicle with them at all times (emergency response call out vehicles for example) but that those people are not personally gaining from it in terms of avoiding taxes which are due.


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## ivor (Sep 24, 2008)

Well I guess that throws some more light on it as he goes straight to the site in the morning and travels around most of the country doing his job and only rarely goes into the office


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## dsolds (Feb 13, 2008)

ivor said:


> Well I guess that throws some more light on it as he goes straight to the site in the morning and travels around most of the country doing his job and only rarely goes into the office


Assuming he doesn't do any private mileage in the van then it is not a taxable BIK. But that means absolutely no private use at all, not even one trip up the tip in the whole year, nothing, nada.

A good mate of mine happens to be a Dyson engineer and he does exactly this. But once he knocks off the van is parked up until the next time he's at work. In his contract there's something about him only being insured for company business which also helps the case to HMRC. He is not legally allowed to use the van for private stuff hence it cannot be a BIK.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

dsolds said:


> Assuming he doesn't do any private mileage in the van then it is not a taxable BIK. But that means absolutely no private use at all, not even one trip up the tip in the whole year, nothing, nada.
> 
> A good mate of mine happens to be a Dyson engineer and he does exactly this. But once he knocks off the van is parked up until the next time he's at work. In his contract there's something about him only being insured for company business which also helps the case to HMRC. He is not legally allowed to use the van for private stuff hence it cannot be a BIK.


That is why any car I use, is the company "pool car" 

:thumb:


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## dsolds (Feb 13, 2008)

Yeah, just be careful Cuey. I used to manage a fleet of 450 cars and one or two of our chaps got caught like that. Make sure you have bomb proof records cos with HMRC you are guilty unless you can prove your innocence 

The worst case I saw was a chap who used a pool car and he had been taking it home without authorisation or good reason to have it there. 19 years service with the company. HMRC assumed he had been doing it for the last 7 years and clobbered him for the lot. All via PAYE as well so not a lot you can do to stop them unless you're self employed. Makes my **** boil but there you have it.


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Cheers, but no need to worry about me....I know what I'm doing.... 

:thumb:


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## ivor (Sep 24, 2008)

some great advice here guys cheers


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