Mileage

Mileage Claim by Staff

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Can staff still claim mileage even though they don’t drive? One of my client’s staff claiming mileage while using the train to go between different work sites, it this allowed?

One staff member is claiming mileage from home to head office when he is asked to come for meetings etc. My view Is that he can claim mileage from his regular work place where he works to the head office, and not from home to head office 

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RLI
By lionofludesch
16th May 2016 12:06

What's up with claiming rail fares ?

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By loligo
16th May 2016 12:20

Mileage claim is higher than the rail ticket cost, so they have opted to claim mileage instead.

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Replying to loligo:
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By Chris Ash
16th May 2016 12:26

loligo wrote:

Mileage claim is higher than the rail ticket cost, so they have opted to claim mileage instead.


Well, is the client happy being ripped off?
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Replying to Chris Ash:
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By loligo
17th May 2016 12:51

Client was flexible and it seems staff is not following the company policy. The director wants to make it straight now and asked my opinion on this. Thank you very much

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Mike Cooper HJS
By mike_uk_1983
16th May 2016 12:11

Are you saying that the employee has claimed mileage for the train route or for getting to and from train station?

I would say mileage to and from the station providing someone actually drove (or cycled for lower rate) is allowed.

I thought you could claim from home to temporary place of work as long as that was the journey completed. Also depends what the company's own expenses policy states.

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Replying to mike_uk_1983:
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By loligo
16th May 2016 12:24

Thanks. The staff members use train ticket to go between different work stations, and also to come to head office. Since train ticket is cheaper than mileage amount, they have opted to claim mileage instead.

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Replying to loligo:
Mike Cooper HJS
By mike_uk_1983
16th May 2016 13:58

I would check company's expense policy but would have thought if you go by train you claim train ticket. My firms policy would not allow this.

Would it also be taxable as you would be profiting from the claim

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Replying to mike_uk_1983:
Mike Cooper HJS
By mike_uk_1983
16th May 2016 14:08

Only just seen the comments from CheekyChappy and Zebedee below. (taking me a while to get used to this new website hiding the comments)

I was trying to get to the same point as them as long as employer happy they can be paid whatever rate they want but will become taxable.

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By JCresswellTax
16th May 2016 12:52

It isn't an option!

You can't 'opt' to claim an expense you didn't incur!

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By Alex_T
16th May 2016 12:52

Is their employer authorising this? Seems rather unfair on the employer. They are only out of pocket for the rail fare, why would they be entitled to anymore?

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Replying to Alex_T:
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By loligo
17th May 2016 12:53

The employer ask for my opinion to make it straight. thnak you very much !

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By cheekychappy
16th May 2016 12:52

Repeating the same bullshit does not help people answer your question.

The employee, despite using a train, can claim a mileage allowance from their employer as long as their employer approves of this.

What they don’t qualify for is the exemption and it means that the “mileage rate” paid to the employee is taxable.

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By Zebedee Zibidad
16th May 2016 13:05

There appear to be a number of blind men here, leading each other down a number of dark alleys.

I concur with cheekychappy with respect to the train fare; the tax allowabiliity of travel from home to head office depends though on whether head office is a permanent workplace, mindful of both ITEPA 2003, s. 339(5) and s. 339(4).

Just making stuff up and using some other notional place might work for the employer, but is irrelevant for tax purposes.

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Replying to Zebedee Zibidad:
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By loligo
17th May 2016 13:14

Each staff has a contract to work in one designated site. The client has 5 satellite sites plus and head office for admin and support services.

The employee required to come to head office for training and monthly supervision meetings. Sometime employer make requests to staff members to move between satellite stations to cover the various shifts etc. Further, staff members can also look at the weekly rota and request additional [***]. So lot of travelling involved in this business.

The employer was flexible in past for mileage claim due to difficulty of finding quality social works to do the work. But now they want to get things in order. They have asked for my opinion on this.

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By neiltonks
16th May 2016 15:04

My line of thought goes like this ....

The employer is paying the member of staff an amount of money to make the journey. What this is called is irrelevant, as is the amount paid - these things are up to the employer.

The actual cost of the rail ticket is a genuine business expense and is allowable.

So the taxable amount is the amount reimbursed, less the cost of the rail ticket.

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Replying to neiltonks:
RLI
By lionofludesch
16th May 2016 17:30

neiltonks wrote:

My line of thought goes like this ....

The employer is paying the member of staff an amount of money to make the journey. What this is called is irrelevant, as is the amount paid - these things are up to the employer.

The actual cost of the rail ticket is a genuine business expense and is allowable.

So the taxable amount is the amount reimbursed, less the cost of the rail ticket.

Agree with this.

You can only claim expense actually incurred. The mileage allowance is a permitted rough and ready way of arriving at the cost per mile. But if you travel by rail, it's rail fare or nothing.

If they don't drive, there's a can of worms being opened here,

Let me ask another question, if two employees travelled together, would you think it was OK for them to claim 45p a mile each ?

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By loligo
17th May 2016 13:16

No, the employer always make sure if two people travel together then only one staff can claim mileage allowance.

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Replying to loligo:
RLI
By lionofludesch
17th May 2016 13:29

loligo wrote:

No, the employer always make sure if two people travel together then only one staff can claim mileage allowance.

Quite.

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Replying to neiltonks:
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By loligo
17th May 2016 13:18

I agree with you and than you very much !

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