#Landlords – you can claim mileage on your personal car to potentially reduce your #tax bill. Read how here:
Landlords will often use their car for the purposes of their property rental business. Where they do so, they are able to claim a deduction for the costs that they incur.
Using mileage rates
Where a landlord uses their car for business purposes, the easiest way to work out the amount that can be deducted is to make use of the simplified expenses system and use the relevant mileage rates to claim a deduction based on the business mileage undertaken.
For cars (and also vans) the rate is set at 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and at 25p per mile for any subsequent business mileage.
Example
Karen is an unincorporated landlord and has three properties that she lets out. During the tax year, she undertakes 712 business miles in her own car in respect of her property business.
She claims a deduction of 45p per mile, a total deduction for the year of £320.40.
Deduction based on actual costs
The use of simplified expenses, while generally easier from an administration perspective, is not compulsory. The landlord can instead claim a deduction based on the actual costs. However, in practice this will be time consuming. Further, where the car is used for both business and private travel, a deduction is only permitted for the business element. Separating actual costs between business and private travel can be very time consuming and will only be worthwhile where it gives rise to a significantly higher deduction than that obtained by using the mileage rates.
Capital allowances
Capital allowances cannot be claimed where mileage allowances are claimed. Where a deduction is based on actual costs, capital allowances can be claimed in respect of the car. However, the claim must be adjusted to reflect any private use. So, for example, if a car is used for the purposes of the property business 20% of the time and for private use 80% of the claim, any capital allowance claim must be restricted to 20%.
Other travel
The costs of travel on public transport or by taxi can be deducted in computing the profits of the property rental business to the extent that it constitutes business travel for the purposes of that business. We can assist if you have more queries in relation to your personal situation. Feel free to contact us: Mail: sam@snaccountants.co.uk
Phone: 07878 070 765 - 07551 199 738
Disclaimer – Sam Niranjan or Sam Niranjan & Co make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of these posts and cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which may arise, directly or indirectly, from reliance on information contained in the blog posts. We are not Independent Financial Advisors, and our advice and comments should not be regarded as investment advice.