Using my own car for work

LegacyUser

Any advise would be grateful. I work in a large company and we have offices up north, recently I have been told by my manager that I am expected to visit these offices once a month, but they are expecting me to use my own car and I am not getting any pay increase for doing this. They told me I will be paid for the Diesel I use for the journey. 60c per km

We use a fleet company for all our Reps so there is plenty of cars in the yard. I asked would I get a pool car for the days I am going up and I was asked was there something wrong with my own car. I said about my concerns around wear and tear and mileage on my own car. If i'm going to be travelling up once a month the mileage will clock up over a year and be more difficult to sell than a car with lower mileage.

Am I over reacting here?

C3PO

At 60c per kilometre you are more than covering the cost of diesel and any depreciation! A round trip of 300 kms will earn you €180!

Dial Hard

useowncar wrote:

Am I over reacting here?

Yep. 60c per km is an extraordinarily generous mileage allowance and will more than cover fuel consumption, wear & tear and depreciation. In a previous job of mine the rate was 12c.

Donal55

Dont forget to infoem your insurance company. Your own job will probably require indemnity.

AndrewJRenko

Here's the standard civil service mileage rates

https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/civil-service-rates.aspx

You'll be liable for benefit-in-kind on the difference between the standard rates and what they are paying you.

You'll need to make sure that your insurance covers occasional use for business travel. The insurance will be higher if you are carrying goods on these trips.

b318isp

I know you are looking at the consequences of mileage on your car, however, I'd flag that you should check that you are insured for this. Most insurance companies will cover you for "occasional" business use, but not regular use.

If you are driving at the start and end of your work day, you are technically travelling to/from a place of employment. However, if you drive during your normal work hours it may be considered business driving.

Additionally, if you are carrying company goods, it would likely be classed as business travel.

Have a chat with your insurance company to be sure, you may have a (small) extra charge to pay.

oakshade

60c per KM is nice money. I'm aware of companies that pay 39c per km or have a fixed rate between offices.

CPTM

Since you are now using your car for work purposes, can you claim back VAT expenses too? On diesel, wear and tear?

C3PO

CPTM wrote: »

Since you are now using your car for work purposes, can you claim back VAT expenses too? On diesel, wear and tear?

You would need to be registered for VAT to claim it back?

Jimbob1977

I think you would need Class Two motor insurance also

CPTM

C3PO wrote: »

You would need to be registered for VAT to claim it back?

Yes, but I wonder if it's possible aside from that. For example, if the personal usage far outweighs the business usage, maybe wear and tear would not be possible, and only the fuel on the specific business trips..

amcalester

I get the same rate as you OP and it's brilliant. I did a 400km round trip last week and I'm probably €200 better off as a result.

I don't do much driving for work so not overly bothered by the extra mileage on the car.

faceman

That’s a good rate OP, id go with that rather than using a company car. Do contact your insurance company to let them know. For me when I switched from personal to business there was no increase in insurance cost.

Tenigate

Op, your mileage is tax free. You'd be crazy not to take it.

AndrewJRenko

Tenigate wrote: »

Op, your mileage is tax free. You'd be crazy not to take it.

Not true - it's only tax free if it doesn't exceed the Revenue standard rates;

https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/reimbursement-rates.aspx

Use of private vehicles
You can repay your employees when they use their private cars, motorcycles or bicycles for business purposes.

This payment can be made, tax free, by the amount of business kilometres travelled. You can either:

• use the current schedule of Civil Service rates
• use other rates not higher than Civil Service rates
• repay the actual cost of the travel to your employee. This amount should not exceed the current Civil Service rates

.

Tenigate

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Not true - it's only tax free if it doesn't exceed the Revenue standard rates;

https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/reimbursement-rates.aspx

Well, partially true. It's tax free up to the limits, so I guess op will be paying a little tax on it. (I forgot about the miserable rate up to 1500km)

jimmycrackcorm

Jimbob1977 wrote:

I think you would need Class Two motor insurance also

I don't think that applies in this case. The OP is traveling to his workplace not using his car to undertake business for his employer. It just so happens his workplace changes.

Were he to visit a client office then that would be a class 2 scenario.

wally1990

Tenigate wrote: »

Well, partially true. It's tax free up to the limits, so I guess op will be paying a little tax on it. (I forgot about the miserable rate up to 1500km)

Actually , I studied Accouting technician and accounting and if a rate is paid above the civil service rates then the whole lot is subject to tax and not just the balance as anyone would think(eg assume up the civil service rate tax free and balance taxable) but it's actually not

I was shocked when I studied this but this is a fact

Cows Go µ

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I don't think that applies in this case. The OP is traveling to his workplace not using his car to undertake business for his employer. It just so happens his workplace changes.

Were he to visit a client office then that would be a class 2 scenario.

That depends on the insurance company, some companies just work on the number of miles you do. The best thing to do would be to call the insurer, explain the situation and they will decide what level of cover is needed.

Water John

Was on the road for years. We used a flat rate, calculated from the Revenue table. Can't see that option on the Revenue site. It was relatively generous and had no BIK implications.
The rate offered to the OP, may actually be that.

Tenigate

wally1990 wrote: »

Actually , I studied Accouting technician and accounting and if a rate is paid above the civil service rates then the whole lot is subject to tax and not just the balance as anyone would think(eg assume up the civil service rate tax free and balance taxable) but it's actually not

I was shocked when I studied this but this is a fact

I am actually shocked to hear that!

wally1990

Tenigate wrote: »

I am actually shocked to hear that!

I know and to this day when I do it , it feels wrong

Surely the revenue would allow the amount up to the civil service rate tax free and the balance taxable but they don't

I will take a photo of my book tomorrow and post it showing that if a payment exceeds the civil service rate then the total/whole income/payment is subject to tax

Tell me how

As others have said, I would be more focused on the insurance side of things than the costs involved. If you do proceed with driving your own car, confirm that it will not impact on your no claims build up. if the policy, changes to business use, it might do so.

Also, if the company have fleet cars, I don't see why you have to use your own. It's much less pain than worrying about insurance and claiming for expenses. Plus, if the frequency of the visits was to increase, you may find you having to consider a car upgrade which would be entirely on your shoulders if using your own vehicle.

TheRiverman

Will travelling to those offices be during your normal working hours ?.If it is you are using your car to do your work and should have business insurance cover on it which will cost more,so you should discuss that with your employer as in my opinion you will be be entitled to claim back the extra premium as well as getting your fuel allowance.

AndrewJRenko

wally1990 wrote: »

Actually , I studied Accouting technician and accounting and if a rate is paid above the civil service rates then the whole lot is subject to tax and not just the balance as anyone would think(eg assume up the civil service rate tax free and balance taxable) but it's actually not

I was shocked when I studied this but this is a fact

I'm no expert, but I was just going to say the same thing from my reading of the Revenue section of the site.

Water John wrote: »

Was on the road for years. We used a flat rate, calculated from the Revenue table. Can't see that option on the Revenue site. It was relatively generous and had no BIK implications.
The rate offered to the OP, may actually be that.

I can't see how you could calculate from the Revenue table and end up with a figure way above any of the Revenue figures.

_Brian

I travel for work to sites, class 1 indemnity is what the company requires, think it’s €20/30

Water John

Well, add the first two Band rates. Combined and averaged they are over 60 cent.
To pass the travel threshold he round trip would have to pass 460 km. No Tax implications.

dudara

My company also requires Class I indemnity, and for them to be named on my insurance cert. After that, we get a decent mileage rate (though not as good as yours OP)

boege

https://www.theaa.ie/aa/motoring-advice/cost-of-motoring.aspx

wally1990

Photo