What mileage rate do you charge / get paid

[Anna Kettle]

I've just been looking at my job quoting spreadsheet and see that I cost my mileage at 25p a mile - thats just for the van fuel, running costs, depreciation etc not for my time behind the wheel.

I suspect I plucked this figure out of mid air a couple of years ago so can anyone suggest a better one?

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Huge]

The RAC & AA can provide figures. 25p is *way* too little!

[Andy Hall]

Try asking the AA or RAC for their recommended rates. I am sure that they are twice that.

You are offering a specialised and skilled service, and I don't suppose that there are that many people doing what you do.

There are none in Yellow Pages for example - the nearest match being Parachuting and Paragliding.

Given that situation, your time is precious, so it's reasonable to charge travelling time as well if you have to go a long way.

.andy

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[Tony Bryer]

The Inland Revenue will let you pay yourself 40p per mile (25p for miles>10000) so that seems a good starting point:

[Rick Dipper]

I would do some sums

Van cost 20000, does 100000 miles so thats = 20p per mile Van lasts 5 years Inusrance at 500 * 5 / 100000 = 2.5 p per mile Road tax at 150 * 5 / 100000 = Servicing over 5 years 5000 / 100000 Interest on bank loan Diesel 30 MPG, 5 pound a gallon = etc etc ....

Only you will know the yrue numbers to put in the sums Rick

[Harvey Van Sickle]

On 11 Jun 2004, Anna Kettle wrote

I've used 30p per mile for a few years, but figure it's probably too low: a couple of years ago it seemed to me that the going rate for a corporate employee was running around 35p.

[Tony Bryer]

The IR used to have different rates for different engine sizes. Now the tax-free rate is a straight 40p (up to 10K miles) so if can you run an economical car and make a profit on the deal then Gordon says good luck to you. And vice versa.

[The Natural Philosopher]

32p is pretty much tax allowable rate.

Actual cots I calculated ranged from around 20p for a clapped out sierra in 1995, to about £2 for a brand new Jaguar.

These are all up cost including maintenance, brakes, tyres, depreciation etc etc.

For a diesel van, I'd say around 32p a mile is reasonable excluding driver costs.

[The Natural Philosopher]

The difference between a clapped out but reliable Diesel skoda and a brand new luxury car like a Merc is staggering.

From maybe as low as 20p to as high as £2.50.

A brand new luxury car can depreciate by nearly a quid a mile.

Tyres on one car I have had lasted 15000 miles and cost a grand to replace. That's 6p a mile.

Fuel at what - 4 quid a gallon - and 20 mpg gets you 20p a mile just for that.

500 quid of service every 10,000 miles is what? 5p a mile.

Insurance on a big un - let's call that a grand a year. for 10,000 miles. 10p a mile.

That's already £1.50 a mile. Mainly depreciation its true. Bu on an older car you have service issues. That 1000 quid bill to get a 7 year old car through its MOT etc etc.

[Rick Dipper]

In the good old days people with their own company, and a small old car doing lots of milage could make a reasonable living off the milage allowance ........

[Tony Bryer]

Now (thanks to Gordon) I do very nicely off the new company car tax regime: pay tax on 15% x £11,200 cost of my new Honda Jazz. A new car, all bills paid (except petrol) for £13 a week.

[fred bloggs]

so if you are a high-rate tax payer, you will only get about 40% of that back (as far as I remember that is). The logic seems to be that you have paid for petrol with money that has already been taxed, so they give you the tax back.

Mike

[Anna Kettle]

Thanks all. Looks like I should be charging more and I shall go for the IR 40p/mile option which has the advantage that when I decide to put my mileage up again I will know where to go and look for a number

Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Plaster conservation and lime plaster repair / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Andy Hall]

Anna

I hope also that you are not underselling yourself on the work you do.... I can imagine that to an extent it's a labour of love, but it's also that to the customers......

.andy

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[Colin Wilson]

I work for a multinational, and their figure for "excess mileage" (if they want you to go on a course somewhere or move to a different office) is a mere 22p/mile.

I think the "business use" rate goes up to something a little more reasonable, but its still crap.

[Andy Hall]

But the first one is a "business" thing unless it's an internal course. There's a whole bunch of Inland Revenue (spit) rules relating to what constitutes home to work mileage and is not expensable and what is not. However, a large multinational may may a specific negotiated deal.

Even so, this is a poor rate if you are using your own car, fully funded by you. I wouldn't do it and would use a taxi instead.

While the company shouldn't be excessively funding this over the cost, it doesn't strike me as reasonable that you should be subsidising them. Just my 2c.

.andy

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[Paul Mc Cann]

snip

Really ?

This is a new one to me. The mind boggles at the built-in get out clauses inserted in these policies.

Paul Mc Cann

[Nick Read]

If you are self employed and charging this rate out to customers, (as opposed to being employed and claiming back from an employer) then strictly speaking you can charge anything you like per mile, providing your customers are prepared to pay it.

Nick

[Dave Liquorice]

When my old employer started getting "fussy" about mileage and expenses in general most opted to take a hire car, provided by the company delivered and collected from our home address's, instead of using our own cars. Taxi fares half way across the country are a little steep...

[Hugo Nebula]

On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 21:17:57 +0100, a particular chimpanzee named "fred bloggs" randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

No, anything over 40p/mile is the rate at which they think you're making a profit, and tax you on the excess at your higher/highest rate.

Local government's rates are 40.4p/mile up to 8,500miles/year, then

11.2p after that (based on a fuel price of 76.18p/litre).