Cycle to Work Scheme: Vat?

S'

Hello all,

Looking to buy a Boardman Team Carbon via the Bike to work scheme.

Halfords are the sole supplier in Ireland, and was thinking of buying it in Newry as it works out cheaper then buying in the republic.

The bike is priced at £1000.
As the limit is €1000, can the claim the vat back on the bike by providing them with my vat number?

seamus

No. VAT is only reclaimable on items purchased for use in the course of providing services to the end-consumer. Or something to that effect.

VAT isn't reclaimable on the bike unless you're using it in the course of business (such as a courier). In that case, the bike is not claimable under the B2W scheme because the employer is buying it (and not the employee).

blorg

Note the limit is only what you get as a tax-free benefit in kind. There is nothing to stop you buying a €1,200 bike with €1,000 of that tax-free and the remaining €200 you pay tax on as normal.

Lumen

Here

S'

Thanks, that clears it up;)

Gers_punto

also to give you a heads up halfords are having a supplier issue re the large and medium sizes of the team carbon

bloomfield

Also, I don't think the Bike to Work scheme allows you to buy from outside of Ireland.

Lumen

bloomfield wrote: »

Also, I don't think the Bike to Work scheme allows you to buy from outside of Ireland.

Not true.

seamus

bloomfield wrote: »

Also, I don't think the Bike to Work scheme allows you to buy from outside of Ireland.

Your employer can source the bike from wherever the hell they like

teufelswerk

seamus wrote: »

Your employer can source the bike from wherever the hell they like

You can also source the bike from wherever you want and get the employer to sanction it. This scheme is very flexible in all respects.

spurscormac

teufelswerk wrote: »

You can also source the bike from wherever you want and get the employer to sanction it. This scheme is very flexible in all respects.

Except where your employer has signed up to a specific scheme, such as raleigh2work or whatever. In that case your choice of shop is limited to the ones listed in that specific scheme.

Not that I'm complaining, with the Bike to Work and an existing Benefit in Kind scheme already in existence in my place of work, my €1000 bike is only gonna set me back about €230.

Lumen

spurscormac wrote: »

Except where your employer has signed up to a specific scheme, such as raleigh2work or whatever. In that case your choice of shop is limited to the ones listed in that specific scheme.

That's nothing to do with the scheme, it's just the employer being a lazy twunt.

The regulations could not be more open and straightforward. They're designed to be simple to implement. It can be confusing to PAYE employees who don't understand tax issues, but finance people do and they're the ones supposed to be administering it.

Beasty

spurscormac wrote: »

Not that I'm complaining, with the Bike to Work and an existing Benefit in Kind scheme already in existence in my place of work, my €1000 bike is only gonna set me back about €230.

The BtW scheme can save you 50%+ for a higher rate taxpayer. How do you get it lower (unless the employer is not asking for te full amount back under salary sacrifice arrangements)?

ShevY

Gers_punto wrote: »

also to give you a heads up halfords are having a supplier issue re the large and medium sizes of the team carbon

Could you elaborate on this please. I'm ordering a large in the next few days

spurscormac

Beasty wrote: »

The BtW scheme can save you 50%+ for a higher rate taxpayer. How do you get it lower (unless the employer is not asking for te full amount back under salary sacrifice arrangements)?

Not sure of the ins and outs, but there's an existing BIK scheme where you can claim gym membership, bikes etc to X amount and the company pay this for you, with you just paying the tax on the BIK.
So they are combining the B2W and the existing scheme to make it as cheap as possible for the employee.

I'm not an accountant, so I don't know exactly how its calculated, but in the wiki link above, there's a reference to the company gifting the bike to you as BIK, so it fits in under that I assume, just not getting 100% of the cost as a BIK.

Lumen wrote:

That's nothing to do with the scheme, it's just the employer being a lazy twunt.

The regulations could not be more open and straightforward. They're designed to be simple to implement. It can be confusing to PAYE employees who don't understand tax issues, but finance people do and they're the ones supposed to be administering it.

Lazy they may be, but if thats what your employer has done, then you're stuck with it I'm afraid.

blorg

spurscormac wrote: »

Not sure of the ins and outs, but there's an existing BIK scheme where you can claim gym membership, bikes etc to X amount and the company pay this for you, with you just paying the tax on the BIK.
So they are combining the B2W and the existing scheme to make it as cheap as possible for the employee.

That sounds plausible, it is entirely legal under the scheme for the employer to gift you the bike without a salary sacrifice and as long as it is under €1,000 you would pay nothing at all for it in BIK taxation.