If you are instructed to use your own car for work purposes and the employer fills your car up, should they also pay the 70c per km as stated on the IRD website to cover wear and tear etc?
One or the other. You may have only traveled 10 or 20 km which would give you $14 if you just did a mileage claim, and with filling the tank they may have put $40 in for you.
But as far as I know the "proper" way is to do a mileage claim... I wouldn't try and double dip but if you know how far you traveled and it works out you would be better off with a claim I would lodge one minus the amount they put into your tank.
From experience the 70 c per km is plenty to cover gas & on road coasts ect
I had previously studied up on the IRD milage rates, and have booklets and printouts here that all still say 62c/km up to 3000km, then 19c km from 3001 to 5000km.
I didn't realise it had changed. I see it changed 1 April 2008, yet the info about it on their website is dated 09 Jul 2009. No wonder I missed it last tax year. Aww man I will have to redo all my tax work before I submit it to the accountant.
So is it now simplified, flat rate 70 cents per km from 1 to 5000kms/year??
Is this something that you have to work out with your employer before you use your own car? So for instance if I have to use my car to go and pickup a client can i then bill my employer at 70c per km?
Well if your employer is sticking to the law then the IRD figure is the lowest they can do. You may come to other arrangments with them ie a higher per km or just getting your tank filled., or an afternoon off
Then read it all the way to the bottom - the key is the section "Employee reimbursement". As long as you are an employee you can be reimbursed based on a reasonable estimate. IRD would be pushing it uphill if they ever tried to argue that the AA rates are not reasonable so as long as you are an employee (and this includes shareholder employees) then you can be reimbursed on the reasonable amount.
acetone: Is this something that you have to work out with your employer before you use your own car? So for instance if I have to use my car to go and pickup a client can i then bill my employer at 70c per km?
Absolutely - any mileage in relation to your employ, other than commuting to and from work, you are definately be entitled to claim, unless your company policies or your employment agreement says otherwise. ie if you are in sales, there may be a certain percentage in your bonus that is to be covered for mileage. But it needs to be explicitly stated in your contract, and not arbitarily changed without your knowledge.
Even if you go to a clients place on your way home, you are entitled to claim for the mileage from work to your clients place. But not from your clients place to home - that is considered normal commuting.
But do tell your employer that you will be claiming for mileage - otherwise you may get their back up if it normally hasn't been done in the past. Then again, the employer should not be taking advantage of your good will for their benefit,
Conversely, if you get little "perks", like a discarded PC that's still in reasonable good shape and usable, and you assign it to your kids, there is an expected give and take in this respect.
Also if you are using your personal vehicle for work then you need to have insurance that reflects this. You could get a nasty shock if you get in a prang and you're not covered.
Probably not a big issue if you're doing the odd drop in for work but if you're regularly doing work using a personal vehicle then be aware of it.
It's not a trivial difference in the cost of insurance either.
Handle9: Also if you are using your personal vehicle for work then you need to have insurance that reflects this. You could get a nasty shock if you get in a prang and you're not covered.
Probably not a big issue if you're doing the odd drop in for work but if you're regularly doing work using a personal vehicle then be aware of it.
It's not a trivial difference in the cost of insurance either.
+1 Check your insurance very carefully, you will almost certainly be required to pay a higher premium, and if you have a prang, even when you're not on company time, you will prob not be covered if you've been usig your car for work related stuff.
Handle9: Also if you are using your personal vehicle for work then you need to have insurance that reflects this. You could get a nasty shock if you get in a prang and you're not covered.
Probably not a big issue if you're doing the odd drop in for work but if you're regularly doing work using a personal vehicle then be aware of it.
It's not a trivial difference in the cost of insurance either.
+1 Check your insurance very carefully, you will almost certainly be required to pay a higher premium, and if you have a prang, even when you're not on company time, you will prob not be covered if you've been usig your car for work related stuff.
Even better, ring your insurance company and talk to them about it.
Most are not too worried unless you are using in a sales rep type capacity. Often it details this in the policy brochure too.
Funnily enough, they have higher premiums if you are using it to travel around selling insurance!
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