business miles in not legally owned car

[baztion]

Hi all

I have started a UK limited company and have a client in my home country and another client in the UK. I still have a car in my home country but I am no longer legal owner of it. I do pay for it but names are shifted to my parents as they are residents there.

When I visit my client in my home country I was planning to use my old car and write out business miles from the airport I land in, to the destination I sleep. Further to and from the temporary place of work. I choose to sleep at family members or hotels depending on convenience.

So the big question, am I allowed to expense with driven miles as business miles?

I have found the old archived from HMRC but I can't find an update to it.

BIM47701 - Measuring the profits (specific rules and practices) - receipts and deductions: specific deductions - travel and subsistence: use of vehicle - mileage rates - introduction

It states following:

---

Ownership
It is not necessary for a person who claims mileage rate basis to be the legal owner of the vehicle. All that is necessary is that the taxpayer claiming the expense is paying the costs of running and maintaining the vehicle.

---

Do there exist an update to above?

Thanks for your help in advance

[Lance]

Hi all

I have started a UK limited company and have a client in my home country and another client in the UK. I still have a car in my home country but I am no longer legal owner of it. I do pay for it but names are shifted to my parents as they are residents there.

When I visit my client in my home country I was planning to use my old car and write out business miles from the airport I land in, to the destination I sleep. Further to and from the temporary place of work. I choose to sleep at family members or hotels depending on convenience.

So the big question, am I allowed to expense with driven miles as business miles?

I have found the old archived from HMRC but I can't find an update to it.

BIM47701 - Measuring the profits (specific rules and practices) - receipts and deductions: specific deductions - travel and subsistence: use of vehicle - mileage rates - introduction

It states following:

---

Ownership
It is not necessary for a person who claims mileage rate basis to be the legal owner of the vehicle. All that is necessary is that the taxpayer claiming the expense is paying the costs of running and maintaining the vehicle.

---

Do there exist an update to above?

Thanks for your help in advance

Ignore the ownership of the car. I matters not.
I personally wouldn't be interested in who funds the car either.

Claim business miles only, at 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles. That's it.

The only think likely to get investigated are the miles, and whether they are business. You don't have to keep receipts for fuel, but it is worthwhile as I know of two people who have had to prove they did the miles as they were enormous claims. They both spent many months arguing and if they had receipts the arguments wouldn't have happened. Note that this was mileage in excess of 30k per year for several years in a row.


and this is the up to date link Travel - mileage and fuel rates and allowances - GOV.UK

[eek]

Ignore the ownership of the car. I matters not.
I personally wouldn't be interested in who funds the car either.

Claim business miles only, at 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles. That's it.

The only think likely to get investigated are the miles, and whether they are business. You don't have to keep receipts for fuel, but it is worthwhile as I know of two people who have had to prove they did the miles as they were enormous claims. They both spent many months arguing and if they had receipts the arguments wouldn't have happened. Note that this was mileage in excess of 30k per year for several years in a row.

Really, I would have thought a photograph or registration and milometer (less than 3 years old) or MOT certificates would be enough.

Few people are going to do over 10,000 miles a year except for business.

[Lance]

Really, I would have thought a photograph or registration and milometer (less than 3 years old) or MOT certificates would be enough.

Few people are going to do over 10,000 miles a year except for business.

Maybe it would. But I guess they didn't have those. when did MOTs start having mileage on?
This was in the late 90s/early 2000s

Maybe a lot of people were abusing the system and putting in stupid claims.

[ladymuck]

I've claimed business mileage in hire cars, borrowed cars, my own car. It's very simple to keep a log of origin, destination, miles travelled and the purpose of the trip. Petrol receipts are handy if you're doing lots of mileage but for short trips it's a bit overkill I think. A £60 receipt to fill a tank as 'evidence' of a 25 mile journey doesn't feel sensible to me.

EDIT: When I used to drive every day to clients, I had one of those little mileage log books in my car and I recorded all business and personal mileage in it. Very simple to keep track.

[barely_pointless]

I've claimed business mileage in hire cars, borrowed cars, my own car. It's very simple to keep a log of origin, destination, miles travelled and the purpose of the trip. Petrol receipts are handy if you're doing lots of mileage but for short trips it's a bit overkill I think. A £60 receipt to fill a tank as 'evidence' of a 25 mile journey doesn't feel sensible to me.

EDIT: When I used to drive every day to clients, I had one of those little mileage log books in my car and I recorded all business and personal mileage in it. Very simple to keep track.

Waze does all that for you, as long as you don't mind Israeli Big Data mil intel knowing your trips

[eek]

Waze does all that for you, as long as you don't mind Israeli Big Data mil intel knowing your trips

Waze, a company owned by the US company Google for the past 7 years?

[ladymuck]

Waze does all that for you, as long as you don't mind Israeli Big Data mil intel knowing your trips

I looked at a number of apps / tech solutions and it was always simpler and quicker for me to just scribble it in a little book.

Guildhall Vehicle Mileage Log Book T43: Amazon.co.uk: Office Products

[baztion]

I've claimed business mileage in hire cars, borrowed cars, my own car. It's very simple to keep a log of origin, destination, miles travelled and the purpose of the trip. Petrol receipts are handy if you're doing lots of mileage but for short trips it's a bit overkill I think. A £60 receipt to fill a tank as 'evidence' of a 25 mile journey doesn't feel sensible to me.

EDIT: When I used to drive every day to clients, I had one of those little mileage logbooks in my car and I recorded all business and personal mileage in it. Very simple to keep track.

As you write you have a car registered in your name so HMRC will not question that. I do not have a car registered in the UK.

The "up to date" link from Lance does not state anything about ownership of the car.

Does that change anything?

[eek]

As you write you have a car registered in your name so HMRC will not question that. I do not have a car registered in the UK.

The "up to date" link from Lance does not state anything about ownership of the car.

Does that change anything?

You are just claiming 45p a mile for the distance travelled - it doesn't matter who owns the car.

A better question to ask your accountant would be how do you justify claiming mileage outside the UK where it would be far more typical to claim fuel and rental costs?