45p a mile vs fuel prices 1.47 today in my town

[justwantkindnessinmylife]

I'm an estate agent. I'm salaried pretty low at 18K. I have to use my own car and get 45p a mile. Do you think it's worth it? Fuel prices have shot up massively and I've been doing 50 min round trips to one property alone.
Just wondered everyone's thoughts?

Thoughts on what though?

I hate the 45p/mile thing. If you ripped the bottom out of your car leaving a house, you wouldn't get the repairs paid for by your employer - your 45p is expected to cover all wear and tear.

I ended up with a company car for this reason - damage done at work (unless I crashed it etc) was their problem. I worked in construction though, so I was on and off sites every day and the risk to the car was high.

Do you have an option? Will they give you a car to use and they pay for the fuel etc?

45p per mile is HMRC's mileage allowance, though - if your company paid you any more than that, they'd have to include the excess in your P11d and you'd be liable for income tax on it.

As to whether it's worth it or not for you, I suppose it depends on your mpg and how much you'd want to cover that and wear & tear.

In terms of fuel usage unless you run a gas guzzler it should be more than adequate, as for wear and tear, additional deprecation then that is going to depend on all sorts of factors

It's fine.
If the bottom of your car is ripped out as per po then you claim on insurance..

@justwantkindnessinmylife

I'm an estate agent. I'm salaried pretty low at 18K. I have to use my own car and get 45p a mile. Do you think it's worth it? Fuel prices have shot up massively and I've been doing 50 min round trips to one property alone. Just wondered everyone's thoughts?

Depending on your car and driving pattern your fuel costs will between £0.10 and £0.20 per mile, which leaves you with £0.25-0.35 to cover wear and tear. Whether you think that is worth it is up to you.

@Luckytattie

It's fine. If the bottom of your car is ripped out as per po then you claim on insurance..

Also make sure you are covered for business usage, not just commuting, or you could be in for a nasty surprise.

Sorry fuel is 147.9 here

@justwantkindnessinmylife

Sorry fuel is 147.9 here

Unless you only get 3 miles to the gallon the fuel cost is more than covered by the maximum mileage allowance. You need to decide about the other costs of running a car. What is the alternative?

It's been 45p a mile for as long as I can remember, probably about 20 years. Surprised it hasn't ever gone up with inflation.

@Luckytattie yes I chose business insurance just in case!!

@justwantkindnessinmylife

I'm not sure what your point is repeating the price of the fuel, I'm assuming your car doesn't use more than a litre for three miles? You can't really compare the two unless you are doing miles per litre or cost per mile

@Mumblechum0

It's been 45p a mile for as long as I can remember, probably about 20 years. Surprised it hasn't ever gone up with inflation.

It is still quite a generous allowance if you are running a car anyway. If you didn't want or need a car for your own use then it would be a different matter

If the bottom of your car is ripped out as per po then you claim on insurance.

And then pay increased premiums in future.

There is a good breakdown of running costs here which estimates the total cost of running a car at about 40p per mile . Depreciation is the biggest cost (closely followed by fuel) www.nimblefins.co.uk/cheap-car-insurance/average-cost-run-car-uk

@Coogee

If the bottom of your car is ripped out as per po then you claim on insurance.

And then pay increased premiums in future.

Or claim on companies insurance then..

Or don't work for them. It's up to you if you aren't happy to use your own car.

At least op was sensible to get business insurance

@justwantkindnessinmylife

Sorry fuel is 147.9 here

but that's per litre, not per mile - you don't pay for fuel by the mile.

Mine does around 140 miles to £20. If I drove 140 business miles I'd get back £54, more than double my fuel expenditure.

You normally make money by getting fuel allowance. Excluding wear and tear costs.

It's a lot more than I get. Mines 20p a mile as a Carer

The standard 45p mileage allowance hasn't changed since 2012 - when unleaded was just under 90p a litre. So in that case, it hasn't really followed on so perhaps they should revise the rate up a bit, since fuel is now around £1.40 a litre. I know it is only partly for fuel, and the rest is for wear & tear and business use insurance, but those have both gone up a lot too.

How about 70p a litre instead?

What do you lot think? Or do you reckon employers shouldn't have to pay any more?

@HopingForOurRainbowBaby I believe you can claim tax relief on the difference between your rate and HMRCs if it’s lower.

I feel the same as you OP, I need a car during my working day also and I wouldn't run a car otherwise. I didn't have a car until May when I started this job. The cost of buying a car and running it is a shock to me! I thought buses were dear but realise that what I spent on buses was tiny in comparison. But I guess the reality is I couldn't get a job which was based in one location, so I should just feel lucky to have my current job.

@Mumblechum0

It's been 45p a mile for as long as I can remember, probably about 20 years. Surprised it hasn't ever gone up with inflation.

@Mumblechum0 I know huh I was self employed back then!

If you do a lot of work mileage it's a good way of having a lot of the costs of running a car paid for by your employer as fuel will be under a third of that unless you run a thirsty car.

Be aware that if you do more than 10k business miles a year, the rate drops to 20 p a mile above that mileage.

I'd happily use my own car for 45 p a mile, but unfortunately my employer makes us piss about with hire cars unless very short journeys.