Hi all....Happy New Year to you all (and hopefully a prosperous one).
This is probably going to be a very blindingly obvious question. If I charge a client for mileage (i.e. actually add it to my invoice) I can't still claim the same mileage on my tax return can I? I'm actually only charging them .20p per mile as I have an economical car and it seemed rather ott to charge them .45p per mile when I don't use that much.
If I can't claim the same mileage on my tax return, could I claim the difference between the .45 and .20?
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I've never actually charged a client for mileage before.
You can indeed. Just think of it as adding a bit extra to your fees. Read a couple of posts down and you'll see a similar question about a childminder charging clients. You can claim the full 45p not just the difference.
But I guess it would be easier to mange and also some clients may not be happy to accept the expenses, whereas if you bill them for the time then they may be abit more accepting
But I guess it would be easier to mange and also some clients may not be happy to accept the expenses, whereas if you bill them for the time then they may be abit more accepting
This has crossed my mind. I'd have thought if anyone seen the mileage detailed on an invoice they may think to themselves "I think I'll get someone a bit more local".
I await someone posting an alternative viewpoint to scupper my logic.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
I charge clients 60p per mile for anything beyond the first ten miles which is absorbed in my charges.
The mileage is basically an increase in the invoiced amount appearing to the client as a mileage charge (so is included in my profit figure). The amount that I pay myself is totally divorced from what I charge clients (45p for every mile (with no exclusion for the first 10 miles) for the first 10k then 25p per mile thereafter).
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Peasie wrote:This has crossed my mind. I'd have thought if anyone seen the mileage detailed on an invoice they may think to themselves "I think I'll get someone a bit more local".
I await someone posting an alternative viewpoint to scupper my logic.
This was my fear, therefore I have included travel time in my engagement contract rather than a mileage charge
Personally, I wouldn't pay any overt travel costs. If I phoned a plumber and they told me they were charging me travel I'd tell them to forget it. Having said that I wouldn't always go for the cheapest so if they hid the travel I'd be happy.
My point is really that not all decisions clients make are rational.
Just to add my bit to this, some time ago I asked a similar question on here and Shaun reminded me that my time travelling to the client was time out of my office & therefore non productive so I should make sure that the mileage charge reflected this.
I showed this on the invoice and the client was happy to pay it
I don't charge mileage, as I think it would put clients off. But I take travelling time and expenses into account when working out my fee - I recently did end of year work for a new client who's office is opposite mine, so I charged him £50 less than I had charged a different client for pretty much identical work a few months before, because that other client was 10 miles away in an area where I had to pay for parking.
Hi everyone....many thanks for all the replies The client had already agreed to pay my mileage on top of my normal fees, so I wasn't worried about showing it on my invoice. The distance is just over 20 miles (so 40 miles round trip). It's a straightforward trip straight up the A12 so takes me half an hour each way. This is the furthest I've had to travel to a client's hence the mileage.
I was recommended to them by their accountant who is also the accountant for another client of mine and at our initial meeting I did suggest they might be better off with someone local and that I could put another ICB member in touch with them, but they said they prefer to go on recommendation.
I'm actually charging them £10 for the mileage but if I charged them for an hour of my time it would be £11, so there's not much difference.
The client had already agreed to pay my mileage on top of my normal fees, so I wasn't worried about showing it on my invoice. The distance is just over 20 miles (so 40 miles round trip). It's a straightforward trip straight up the A12 so takes me half an hour each way. This is the furthest I've had to travel to a client's hence the mileage. 
