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Bike to Work scheme - the Megathread - Read post #1 before posting

Beasty

Firstly this thread is not about which bike should you get under the BTW scheme – there are too many variables to try and cover this in a single thread. It is to provide a summary of the scheme, some do’s and don’ts and act as a single thread for all technical aspects of the scheme.

Any new threads created covering the rules and application of the scheme will either be locked or transferred to this thread. Please ensure you review the whole thread before posting a new query

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yousifm

Jesper wrote: »

Can anyone recommend an electric bike for someone turning 70. I expect to be able to use the bike to work scheme (self employed). Knee's aren't great so I think a step through or low cross bar would be best. Won't be large mileage - mainly out with grandchild etc.
Based in the South East.

Not sure if you've already found a good ebike. If not, you should look at ones with a lightweight body.
Giant have a number of decent ebikes available for about 2,000euro. If you already have a bike that you use, then you can upgrade to an ebike. The myebike.ie guys do that for about 700euro.

Even if you're not planning to go too far, I would still look at getting a decent sized battery (at least 10Ah). Running out of power on an ebike isn't very pleasant, there's going to be some friction if you're cycling a powered-out ebike (because of the motor).

yousifm

Not sure about 1,000euro, but you could definitely find some decent ebikes for under 1,500euro.
If your friends already have decent bikes, they could upgrade them to electric with an ebike kit. The kits usually cost about 500-600euro for a fairly good setup. There's also some businesses around Dublin who do the upgrade for you. The myebike.ie guys and also some bikeshops around the city centre do the upgrade, works out a few hundred euro cheaper than buying an ebike and the specs are usually the same.

Suppose it's just a matter of deciding what specs you want and working your way up from there.

charlieIRL

Tombo2001 wrote: »

what did you get?

I got a Claude Butler Radical. So far so good!

Russman

I just noticed there about the new limits brought in last August, can't believe I missed them til now !

Can I ask, if I bought a bike in December 2017 on the BTW scheme, with the new 4 year limit, am I now ok to use it again in 2021 ?
I just had a look back and the quote and invoice are dated December 2017, to be perfectly honest I don't know what date the company would have actually made the eft and I can't remember whether I picked the bike up during the Christmas/New Year break or if it was in the first days of January, but presumably its the invoice date that counts ?

Thanks !

Seth Brundle

As I understand it, the scheme counts tax years rather than the number of years between so you're looking at 2017, 2018, 2019 2020 and 2021 which counts as five years.
Invoice date / payment date would be the obvious metric point.
Even if you collected it in 2018 then you still have four years covered so get yourself shopping!

MJohnston

Russman wrote: »

I just noticed there about the new limits brought in last August, can't believe I missed them til now !

Can I ask, if I bought a bike in December 2017 on the BTW scheme, with the new 4 year limit, am I now ok to use it again in 2021 ?
I just had a look back and the quote and invoice are dated December 2017, to be perfectly honest I don't know what date the company would have actually made the eft and I can't remember whether I picked the bike up during the Christmas/New Year break or if it was in the first days of January, but presumably its the invoice date that counts ?

Thanks !

Should be the invoice date that matters. And yes, it's counted solely by year, not by the month within the year. Here it is direct from Citizens Info:

If you bought a bike in 2017, regardless of the month, you could buy a new bike and avail of the next tax relief in January 2021.

TonyAdams1998

Looking to get a Canyon bike but my company uses a crowd that only supports Irish retailers.

My question is would a bike shop be able to order the Canyon on my behalf and then claim the VAT back for themselves?

I'm not expecting them to do it unless they can make some money off it.

iwillhtfu

TonyAdams1998 wrote: »

Looking to get a Canyon bike but my company uses a crowd that only supports Irish retailers.

My question is would a bike shop be able to order the Canyon on my behalf and then claim the VAT back for themselves?

I'm not expecting them to do it unless they can make some money off it.

Very unlikely they'd do that.

CramCycle

The bike to work scheme has nothing to do with VAT. A bike shop could order for you, but, you would have to pay them more on top to cover their profit/risk and then another 10% on top of that if it's run through a scheme. I'd say you would be looking at another 30% at a minimum, likely more, to the point you'd begin to wonder if it's worth it. All you can do is ask, and there will be some who will, you'd have to wonder why they would do it, or you. No chance you'd convince your boss to do a one off purchase?

TonyAdams1998

Yeah, I thought that, know my local bike shop owner but not going to put him in an awkward by asking.

I'll give asking finance a go, not in the company long but it's worth a shot - from what I've read it really isn't much paperwork for them.

Disappointing none of the bike to work middlemen offer Canyon - they seem to be one of the best in terms of bang for buck..

iwillhtfu

TonyAdams1998 wrote: »

Disappointing none of the bike to work middlemen offer Canyon - they seem to be one of the best in terms of bang for buck..

Its disappointing they exist at all, it's bordering on robbery imo.

TonyAdams1998

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Its disappointing they exist at all, it's bordering on robbery imo.

Yeah I've only really been reading into it since I've wanted to upgrade my bike.

It is a disgrace that they take €100 quid, especially off independent bike shops.

madmaxvideo

Sorry if already asked, but I can't find it through the tread. I'm completely new to this scheme. Can multiple bikes be purchased on the bike to work, ie: Road bike and MTB, to alternate through??

charlieIRL

yes, you can get a "ticket" so can buy anything you want from it. Bike shops are very helpful when writing out the invoices to give to your employer.

madmaxvideo

charlieIRL wrote: »

yes, you can get a "ticket" so can buy anything you want from it. Bike shops are very helpful when writing out the invoices to give to your employer.

And how does this work, I've been trying to call my local halfords to get an invoice from them, but no answer, or would a print out of the online basket from the shop website do?

CramCycle

MOD VOICE: Just to be clear, it is technically tax fraud and discussion of it will not be permitted here. Take it to PM or ask your LBS, but either way, if they invoice you for two bikes, then your company can only pay for one.

Seth Brundle

madmaxvideo wrote: »

And how does this work, I've been trying to call my local halfords to get an invoice from them, but no answer, or would a print out of the online basket from the shop website do?

I'd recommend calling in to them to get the invoice and avoid any potential confusion. A printout of your basket isn't sufficient as far as I know. You can also talk to them about purchasing any additional bikes.

charlieIRL

Apologies if I worded my post to imply that the shop would help you create tax fraud, what i meant is you can get bike and gear etc on the BTWS.

madmaxvideo

CramCycle wrote: »

MOD VOICE: Just to be clear, it is technically tax fraud and discussion of it will not be permitted here. Take it to PM or ask your LBS, but either way, if they invoice you for two bikes, then your company can only pay for one.

Sorry didn't realise this, sorryðŸ™ˆ

madmaxvideo

charlieIRL wrote: »

Apologies if I worded my post to imply that the shop would help you create tax fraud, what i meant is you can get bike and gear etc on the BTWS.

No worries thanks for the help though, think we'll leave it there, didn't realise this could be construed as tax fraud!!

adrian522

adrian522 wrote: »

Any thoughts on this Cube Atttain GTC Race?

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=152512

Have an option to buy on BTW for €1660. Are there any upgrades worth making out of the gate, tyres wheels etc?

Currently have a Giant defy from 2015 that I may keep for winter or just keep permanently on the turbo trainer.

I'm going to pick this up today. Tempted by the higher spec Attain GTC SL. But I figure the difference is not huge and I can put some cash into new wheels sooner rather than later.

[Deleted User]

The one you linked to is a much nicer frame on the eyes than the boring all black of the SL, though the SL in the blue is quite nice.

Cube have had some lovely looking bikes over the last few years.

adrian522

Picked this up today, happy with it.

28mm tires feel a bit weird to me, also no quick release wheels which I was surprised at.

DaveyDave

Apologies I know people hate frequently asked questions being repeated but I read through 3 pages of search results for this thread and found mixed results going back to 2018.

Canyon. What's the verdict for bikes exceeding the grant? Some say they paid the excess, others are saying they won't take split payments.

grogi

DaveyDave wrote: »

Apologies I know people hate frequently asked questions being repeated but I read through 3 pages of search results for this thread and found mixed results going back to 2018.

Canyon. What's the verdict for bikes exceeding the grant? Some say they paid the excess, others are saying they won't take split payments.

If your employer is paying it directly anyway, you can get it deducted from salary after tax...

Smokeyskelton

DaveyDave wrote: »

Apologies I know people hate frequently asked questions being repeated but I read through 3 pages of search results for this thread and found mixed results going back to 2018.

Canyon. What's the verdict for bikes exceeding the grant? Some say they paid the excess, others are saying they won't take split payments.

My employer paid the 1,000 into Canyon's bank account and I paid the balance by bank transfer from my end. Canyon didn't have any issue with that. There was a bit of delay with the employer's payment so that was a bit stressful, but all worked out ok in the end.

Canyon just provided an invoice for the whole amount and I gave that to my employer.

There was a bit of confusion with my employer initially saying they would not send money to a non-Irish account, but then said it wasn't a problem. Employer also initially wanted an invoice for exactly 1,000, but I just gave them the invoice for the full amount, and they didn't raise an issue.

My employer also insisted the bike had to be delivered to the company address, which was weird, but didn't cause me any issues, so I needed an amended invoice with my employer's address. Other than that it was fine. I had to use Canyon chat function a few times with all those issues, but as I said, it worked out fine in the end.

Good luck with it.

DaveyDave

I emailed to ask if I could buy online and the response wasn't clear, company policy also says to pick a supplier from Tax Free Bicycles so wasn't confident in the online approach. Called HR to confirm who's paying it and the company pays directly so no messing around with a voucher so that's a good step. The issue with online is generally you buy something on your card and obviously you can't get a refund with the scheme so I think that's why there was hesitation with online purchases.

Since Canyon issue an invoice before purchasing I should be able to send it to accounts, fill in the salary deduction etc. I emailed Canyon just to confirm they will take split payments, fingers crossed.

MJohnston

It may not be relevant to the Bike to Work scheme, but Canyon offer a zero APR split payment scheme for their bikes (bought a Roadlite using that last year) so they are at least receptive to not receiving the full payment all at once.

quenching

adrian522 wrote: »

Any thoughts on this Cube Atttain GTC Race?

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=152512

Have an option to buy on BTW for €1660. Are there any upgrades worth making out of the gate, tyres wheels etc?

Currently have a Giant defy from 2015 that I may keep for winter or just keep permanently on the turbo trainer.

I’m due to pick one of these up this week, curious about the pricing. Can I ask did you use a third party company for the BTW scheme or pay them directly? The €1660 pricing shows for my VIP membership alright but there’s a note that if using BTW vouchers they won’t give the full VIP discount and “ A claw back of 8-10% on Bike to Work Voucher payments or 6% will be made.” so I’ve no idea what I’ll really pay.

Didn’t notice the lack of quick release wheels until you pointed that out!

TychoCaine

quenching wrote: »

Didn’t notice the lack of quick release wheels until you pointed that out!

Quick release wheels went out of style a few years ago. They're not stiff enough for disc brakes, so we've got thru-axles now.