Capital allowances verses mileage

Poodle

Hi

Is it allowed to switch from the capital allowances plus other expenses route for reclaiming motor expenses to the mileage allowance route, from one year to the next or are you committed to one way and not the other once you start?

P

farmergiles

I am informed by our practice manager that I can only change from Cap all to mileage if the vehicle is changed. Normally the benefits of mileage allowance outweigh any other method, especially in the case of couriers or any other high mileage users. Just don't forget to add back 20% for private use, unless it is a specialist vehicle.
Kind regards
Peter

deanshepherd

I agree with Peter that you can only change method with a change in vehicle.

You don't need to add back a percentage if using the mileage allowance though as you only claim business mileage anyway (I could have misread that!).

Most of my clients find it beneficial to claim a percentage of actual costs rather than mileage but I suspect many are like me in that their total mileage is not huge and their cars cost a lot to keep on the road.

Certainly if you have an efficient vehicle and do a lot of business miles then it can be advantageous to use the mileage method - bit of a bind keeping a log though!!

Poodle

Thanks for that.


It is a taxi driver who was started on the CA route by another accountant, but he knows that he would be better off on a mileage claim.

I expect he will change his taxi next year and with the changing rules for CA's will want that instead, bit of a tricky one.