Just as an aside from the recently closed thread soliciting forum members to commit fraud by supplying fuel receipts to a third party for falsified expenses claims – the post did throw up a legitimate question in my mind:

Why do companies ask for fuel receipts for mileage done in private vehicles?

The post I was about to add to the thread was:

My wife also occasionally has to claim mileage and they also ask for a receipt for fuel, but I don’t understand why that is necessary.

If you are buying fuel for your own vehicle, then there is no way of tying that particular purchase to the work miles you did, nor does it account for any depreciation of the vehicle.

Surely any employer should just make a payment for mileage (40p seems to be a pretty standard figure) according to the mileage you certify as having done?

Maybe they claim the VAT on the fuel back?

It isn’t necessary and not all companies ask for them.

But surely HMRC wouldn’t let that stand? They must know that many of those receipts would cover private mileage along with legitimate work miles?

Do they ?

Mine don’t – just fill in a form if you take your own car.

Only supply fuel receipts if I get a rental car for work and have to fill it up and make direct expenses claim for cost.

Sounds like some jobsworth admin monkey has their facts wrong.

It isn’t necessary and not all companies ask for them.

That’s what I thought – so why DO some companies ask for them?

No company I have ever worked for have ever asked for fuel receipts for mileage done in a private car.

My previous 3 or 4 companies never asked for them however the company I now work with (for past 3 years) told me they needed them. When I asked why I was told it was so they could claim the VAT back on the company milage element, hence the receipt always has to be a VAT receipt with VAT number, date etc…

Just as an aside from the recently closed thread soliciting forum members to commit fraud by supplying fuel receipts to a third party for falsified expenses claims – the post did throw up a legitimate question in my mind:

I was wondering where that thread went!

No fraud, I didn’t teleport those 1300miles, and have recipts for the petrol, but work won’t play ball unless they get a fuel recipt dated before the journey with a VAT number so they can claim some of the money back.

Now slightly peeved off as I’m a months wages out of pocket. And a bit of googling says that ASDA deliberately do this as they calculate their VAT slightly differently hence can sell petrol cheeply.

it’s to claim the VAT back

My online expense claim thingy says “business milage must be supported by a fuel reciept on or around the date of the trip. This is due to a change in customs rules. The two amounts do n ot need to be the same”

It’s a fairly recent thing for us

morgs – Member
it’s to claim the VAT back

Do you know this, or is it what the Finance Dept have told you?

I have been told that the reason that they want to see a receipt is because HMRC want to see that the person being paid the travelling costs has actually bought some fuel. I can’t see how the company can claim the VAT on the fuel bought if they are paying mileage.

that’s the explanation of why I need to hand in a fuel receipt.

I use a personal car for business use. Not a lot of it, probably about 3k miles per year. Accounts told me that they need a VAT receipt to claim it back as it was something to do with their end of year return to HMRC

The NT introduced this some years ago with pages of documentation. It’s about them reclaiming the VAT part of the fuel cost over the mileage claimed. I seem to remember they wanted receipts from before or the day of travel. Obviously HMRC thought accounts depts didn’t have enough to do, and we all drove on red diesel or recycled chip fat.

If you’re really interested…

Seems like a staggeringly crap rule to me as it certainly doesn’t prove what HMRC want it to prove.

Maybe this is some of that red tape that Osbourne is keen to free us of.

I’ll expect to see a change in the rules no time soon.

If my memory serves me well it came in about 5 years ago – probably we’d had a VAT audit or something.

Either way I just add fuel receipts to my expenses – really don’t worry about whether they add up at all, over a year they’ll be enough there.

Always seemed stupid to me too – especially as you can add any fuel receipt.

Seems like a staggeringly crap rule to me

Agreed, but it’s not hard to sling a tenners worth in and keep the receipt, is it? 🙂

submit a claim with reciepts for xx litres of veg oil :d long as its not 2500litres youll be fine 😀 (and you have a car that can run it )

see what finance department say to that 😀

also deters companies from paying employees for non-existent business mileage as a way of paying tax free income me thinks as having to provide receipts means that someone who drives very little can’t participate easily – though before electronic receipts most garages were quite happy to hand over blank receipt pads

On an aside why do you often have to request a vat reciept at alot of petrol stations, most of the ones I use don’t give them out automatically, just your credit card counterfoil or a reciept with no vat number on
Far as I know it’s only petrol stations that do this shops restaurAnts etc have vat number already on their receipts?

And claiming the vat back is correct, doesn’t have to be for correct amount of fuel for the business trip the compNy will sort that out according to employees milage returns

This thread is very topical for me. I’ve been a new job for a month and have about £220 of mileage to submit, I only got the online expense logon details today and it says they need a fuel receipt around the date of travel. Well I don’t have one, I didn’t need one in my previous job. I’ll fill the car up tonight and try to use that but if they don’t except it I wont be a happy bunny.
Maybe I should ask for people to send me their receipts from the last month so I can submit them….but then my thread would get closed down like the example above.

Agreed, but it’s not hard to sling a tenners worth in and keep the receipt, is it?

You’re missing the point.

You can just give them the receipt for the £60 that you might put in any time and tell them that £10 of it was used on your trip.

So what does that tell them? Nothing.

The whole exercise is pointless.

also deters companies from paying employees for non-existent business mileage as a way of paying tax free income me thinks as having to provide receipts means that someone who drives very little can’t participate easily

How many people do you think there are who couldn’t lay their hands on a few VAT receipts for fuel if they wanted to? Do you really think it is a significant problem?

Did you go to the HMRC site and read about this???

My employer asks for fuel receipts to be submitted to support mileage claims. Started doing this 5 years or so go.

Did you go to the HMRC site and read about this???

Did you?

It doesn’t say anything about VAT or receipts – the info you linked to is about income tax and NICs

It doesn’t say anything about VAT or receipts

Yes, and no matter how hard you look through all the links. It still doesn’t.

Not paying tax on a cost to the busines and then being able to claim back tax aswell would, in my mind, not be in HMRC’s interest.

Self employed and not VAT registered – am I correct in assumning I don’t need a VAT fuel receipt? (I’ve been getting into the habit of asking for one anyway)

I’m slightly confused.

My question was, why do employers ask for VAT receipts for fuel?

Can you try and explain your point to me another way TSY?

My point is… and it’s not my area of specialism… they don’t need to!

I’m not asked for them… my boss is the FD. My previous bosses… also FD’s didn’t require them either.

Have been told in the past it’s an internal thing… a way of covering backs that is actually unncessary.

My current boss likes to see a googlemaps routeplan to verify the mileage.

In which case, what do you think they do with all the receipts?

Have been told in the past it’s an internal thing… a way of covering backs that is actually unncessary.

Hmmm, my employer has a UK headcount of approx 20,000 employees. I doubt that they’d be asking for receipts if it were unnessary.

allthepies are they asked for universally throughout the company?
I’ve worked in a big company with a similar number of employees where they asked for them despite senior accountants saying it wasn’t needed.

Thing is, finance people are predominantly risk averse… this may be a reason. Why change it if you’re unsure?

I couldn’t find anything on the HMRC site that said they were needed. I don’t remember anything from my studies either.

No doubt someone will come along who specialises in tax and tell me I’m wrong. In which case I’ll tell my bosses and look Awesome.

In the meantime though all that anybody can say is ‘they must need them for HMRC, because I have to provide them’.

Yes, company expenses policy.

I guess it’s all about the last para on the following link

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cars/advisory_fuel_current.htm

ATP – that’s for company cars though – maybe different.

Personally I think the whole thing is BS – but if anyone does really know, please step forward.

My current boss likes to see a googlemaps routeplan to verify the mileage.

Does he also only hand out a new pen when an empty one is returned?