There’s a common misconception that tax reliefs and allowances are only for self employed people. This isn’t true. HMRC’s regulations can apply to all UK taxpayers.
For employed mobile mechanics, this is welcome news.
Mobile mechanics mileage tax relief
If you’re using your own vehicle to travel to temporary sites, as instructed by your employer, then you’re probably eligible for mileage allowance relief. This is available to taxpayers who must use their own vehicle to travel to temporary work locations.
This is a tax relief claim from HMRC, not something your employer has to pay for (even if they already pay partial mileage costs to you).
What’s the rate of mileage tax relief?
HMRC call the rates of mileage tax relief Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP).
It doesn’t include the commute from your home to your usual place of work, only journeys made to temporary workplaces.
The rate changes according to the type of vehicle you’re using:
- Car or van: AMAP of 45p per mile up to 10,000 miles. 25p per mile after 10,0000
- If you carry a passenger: 5p per passenger, per mile
- Motorcycle: 24p per mile
- Bicycle: 20p per mile
The rate of tax relief is calculated using the income tax rate you pay: 20%, 40% or 45%.
If your employer reimburses you for some of your mileage and its taxed appropriately, you can still reclaim the rest from HMRC.
Use our free Mileage Tax Back Calculator to get a realistic estimate based on your figures.
What does ‘temporary workplace’ mean?
HMRC’s definition of a temporary workplace is very specific, which helps when you’re trying to work out if you’re eligible or not.
- Permanent workplace: a physical place where you work for a minimum of 40% of your total work time. Or when your workplace isn’t one specific site, but is defined a one geographical area.
- Temporary workplace: a building or site where you work for less than 24 months.
This means that if your boss needs to you to spend a few months covering someone at another garage, or you’re regularly attending clients and offering a mobile service, you’d be entitled to mileage tax relief.
Do I need any extra paperwork to claim my mileage?
Yes, you do need evidence to back up your claim. This means things like:
- Diary entries that clearly show when and where you travelled to.
- Your work contract that states that your job involves travelling to temporary workplaces.
- Statements or payslips showing how much mileage you’ve been paid by your employer.
Don’t give up if you don’t have any of these things…
It’s still worth getting in touch, even if you don’t have any of this evidence to hand. There can be alternatives, depending on your personal circumstances. For example, a formal statement from your employer detailing their requirements of you to work in other locations and the dates this took place.
What else can employed mechanics claim for?
Mechanics can claim a few different tax reliefs and allowances, depending on their particular situation even when you’re an employee. Some of the common ones include:
- Tools and safety equipment. Buying hand tools and tool storage is normal for most mechanics and comes at a big cost. Claiming tax relief isn’t allowable on all purchases but most are eligible. A capital allowances claim is possible on allowable items as long as you can provide receipt evidence of your purchases.
- Interest on finance agreements taken out for the purchase of tools and tool boxes bought for work purposes.
- Membership of the Institute of the Motor Industry fee.
- Protective clothing maintenance. A uniform cleaning allowance is available if your employer doesn’t provide you with laundry facilities.
If you pay for this, and other, work expenses yourself, you can usually claim tax relief. As long as you haven’t been reimbursed for that cost by your employer. We don’t have to do a separate claim for each one, it’s all done together.
Good to know
- You can backdate an employed mobile mechanic claim for four tax years.
- You don’t need to have stayed with the same employer.
