Claiming Back Fuel Money Help.

[lostboy87]

Hi all,

I'm a PAYE employee and work for a painting company.I work all over the place and have to pay my own fuel for my own car.The boss gives us bit towards whenever he can be bothered...
I have been told that i can claim money back for this.Does anyone know of any websites that will do this for you as I really don't have the time to sort this myself.I don't have any receipts but I have been told that it doesn't matter.
I really could do with the money right now as we are in the middle of moving and everything helps.
Thanks for reading and hope you can help me out.

[woofgang]

who are you wanting to claim it back from and what does your contract say about travel expenses?

[mccfluff]

you should have an expenses policy. If all your travel is classes as business mileage then you can claim 45ppm for the first 10k and 25ppm for the rest (you do need business insurance if you don't have it btw) You claim this from your company.
If they pay less you can go to HMRC and get the rest back but you'll need to be providing proof

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/relief-mileage.htm#1

[mccfluff]

sorry - you don't need business insurance to claim the mileage rate - that was a btw

[lostboy87]

We get paid £25 for the week if we are lucky.We work in the building trade and now a days its a case of like it or lump it choose what happens.
I just want to know a good site that will do all this for me as i heard people talking about doing this on the last site I was on.

[mccfluff]

if its not business mileage and a commute to work then you can't claim mileage and if you get given something now and then, then that's a bonus.

i don;t understand why you think a website can do it all for you?

[buildersmate]

What has been said above is a bit misleading.

You need to track what mileage you do that is directly attributable to travelling between your workplace and these various sites (NOT from your home). You can then treat the cost at 45p per mile as stated above as an expense against tax, LESS whatever your employer has given you. You then claim this as an expense against tax when you complete a tax return form each year. If you don't currently complete one of these from HMRC you are going to have to start.

What you get back is tax relief on the net shortfall not paid by your employer - so 20% of the net cost (if you are a basic rate payer) - through a reduction in the tax you pay. You cannot get all the cost back through HMRC.

[Maydup]

I think you're best to just have a word with the boss and explain that you can no longer afford to pay for the fuel to get to and fro the jobs. Cost of fuel is on the rise and you'd like to ask for an increase. But that is assuming the transport costs are his concern and not yours. At least try to get him to pay the £25 every week and not just occaisionally.

The tax issue is real but complicated and if you don't already complete a tax return, you might not want to start.