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Benefits of having one?



I haven't had to mess about with these kinda things before and could do with a steer on the subject

Many thanks

Talk to a good accountant about it!

Bikes are good if you can get a company to let you have one - they don't attract company car tax which is really good.

How much a company car will cost you depends on the cost of the car, it's emissions and whether you are a 20% or 40% tax payer.

I'm entitled to a company car but have opted out and get paid some cash instead. The money is nowhere near what the lease cost of the car would be but I wouldn't make enough use of the car to make it a sensible option (I ride my bike most of the time and have an old, cheap car when I need to carry bigger loads)
I nearly succumbed to re-joining the company car scheme a few months ago when I found out I could have a Merc E-class hybrid .... but my head kept telling me I didn't need one and eventually lease prices had risen a bit and I couldn't get one any longer.

It really depends on what you can get, how much it will cost you and whether you really aspire to having a new car that someone else has to maintain.

So if i got offered one as part of a contract, it could be a double edged sword?

Yep - it's a taxable benefit, but as Andy says there's often a cash alternative, which you'll also be taxed on

If you are going to buy a car anyway, or going to sell one you've got, it might be worth it, but do the sums first. I'm sure there's an online calculator that will tell you how much tax you'll be hit for

Wow - the army is going to class a tank as a company vehicle now??

I've got a company car and really can't complain. As above, the amount of tax paid depends on whether you're a high/low tax band and is based on the emissions.

I've got a new Volvo V40, all the toys in it (Nav, DVD players etc) listed at I think £26k. It's got the lowest CO2 figure in its class and I'm paying about £90 per month tax (higher rate unfortunately). There's no way I could buy a prestige car on finance, tax (shouldn't say that as its road tax exempt), insure, maintain etc for £90 per month. It's great to be in a position where if there's anything wrong, someone else pays, take it to Volvo for service and the bill is paid by the company, tyres are supplied by Kwik Fit and only allowed premium brands so again not complaining. I had thought about opting out but co car schemes really are still superb in my opinion if your fleet management company manages them well (I have been in a company where they would cut costs at any

There's a calculator online (HMRC) which can help you. I could have had a bike if I was based inner London!

Hope it helps

Paul

Job interview tomorrow.. London.

If the subject arises I was after a bit of knowledge prior. A mate there says there is a possibility of obtaining them. I'd prefer a bike as it makes commuting home at weekends quicker as well as flitting between sites suppliers and customers easier too in London. I know my mate hasnt pushed the subject but knows the company would be squeamish about a bike.

Will look into it. I was looking into buying a new car come April/May next year so if I get offered the job it might be worthwhile.

This is old info so do check bit a bike used to be a great idea in that it didn't attract the same tax and once you had bought a new one and reclaimed the VAT it meant it cost next to nothing to change it every year as you would reclaim the vat but there was no vat on the one you sold. Combined with a 3 % gain on flat rate vat it almost meant you were trading up to a new one for free

When I was IT contracting in the 90s I had a succession of company bikes - very tax-efficient vehicle (ahem) and all servicing, repairs, upgrades, fuel etc. got put through the company and VAT reclaimed from it. I was really quite miffed when the contract work dried up after 2000 and I had to pay for everything myself.

If you can, go for it. There is no downside that I'm aware of.

I use my bikes as company bikes, as they are bought and owned by the company.

The bike is treated as a company asset and as such use of the asset is taxed at 20% of the purchase price with no fuel benefit in kind.

All bills relating to the asset i.e. servicing, repairs, fuel etc. can have the VAT reclaimed so long as the fuel is for business use only

I have even read of people using planes and boats in the same manner.

Company cars are a different proposition altogether. If I was you I'd get a van, they work out cheaper to run as the fuel benefit in kind is lower and if not used personally doesn't apply at all.

I think we're merging the 2 different things here of being given the use of a car by a company you work for and that of being a small company owner or self employed and having your vehicles as company assets.

Anyway, good luck with the Interview Tim

Done dusted.

No company car but meeh it wasnt too shabby an interview. job is pretty much what i do now but a bit bigger scale

Salary better than current one. just got to thrash out start dates

.. and whether the hot little dark haired girl in the plant office is my girl friday or not...

Kwackerz wrote:Done dusted.

No company car but meeh it wasnt too shabby an interview. job is pretty much what i do now but a bit bigger scale

Salary better than current one. just got to thrash out start dates

.. and whether the hot little dark haired girl in the plant office is my girl friday or not...

Sounds good Tim, hope it all goes OK.
See you have the company perks sized up already.

D-Rider wrote:I think we're merging the 2 different things here of being given the use of a car by a company you work for and that of being a small company owner or self employed and having your vehicles as company assets.

Anyway, good luck with the Interview Tim

Whether the bike is your own or provided by your employer the same rules apply. It is not a company vehicle but a company asset.

Company vehicles are taxed entirely differently.