Bike to Work scheme - the Megathread - Read post #1 before posting

5uspect

Lets take some made up numbers. You earn say €2k per month. This is your gross salary.

The first €1.5k of that is taxed at 20%, the remainding €500 is taxed at 40%.
So of the €1.5k you owe €300 in tax (20% of the €1500)
And of the €500 you owe €300.

Your net salary is what is left. You pay €300 + €200 = €500 in tax and your left with:
(€1,500 - €300) + (€500 - €200) = €1500 net incom per month.

So that's the basic tax system, ignoring all the other things like USC etc.

On top of this you are entitled to tax credits. These are basically discounts on the tax you owe. Most workers can claim tax credits on various things, (but less than in the past where you could claim tax credits on bin charges, rent etc)

The BTW scheme gives you a discount on your tax. You take a €50 hit from your gross but get a tax refund on about €25. What you end up getting paid is only €25 less than before you joined the BTW scheme.

---

Now, anyone have any thoughts on a Giant Rapid? The guys in Cyclezone in Blanchardstown recommended it as a good BTW option.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/2013.giant.rapid.3/11834/56810/#overview

I want something nice for cycling the short 5km trip to work but also for a bit of weekend fun.

Wexf

Bit late to the party here but can someone outline the benefit to the employer and how they actually get their money back, plz I work for a SME and will have to justify this scheme if I'm to get a new bike.

Beasty

Check the first page of this thread for details and benefits of the scheme

From an employers perspective they save PRSI and get a happier and healthier workforce

pistol_75

Hi guys,

The Dept of Education stipulates all payments must be completed in November of calendar year scheme is taken out.

Does anyone know if you can begin scheme in December and pay off till next November or do you have to wait until January?

Dermot Illogical

pistol_75 wrote: »

Hi guys,

The Dept of Education stipulates all payments must be completed in November of calendar year scheme is taken out.

Does anyone know if you can begin scheme in December and pay off till next November or do you have to wait until January?

They start again in January.

Lemlin

Lad in work agreed a price of €645 with an LBS for a 2013 Trek hybrid. It took a month for his vouchers to come through though.

The shop are now saying that the 2013 models are sold out and the 2014 model is €750.

My mate only has €800 worth of vouchers abd wanted to get accessories so was wondering what happens if he takes his vouchers to Halfords and gets a hybrid they have reduced to €539?

The Halfords bike is a Boardman and looks just as good as the Trek in terms of spec.

dots104

Hi Guys

Currently thinking about upgrading my current bike through the bike to work. Just seen that planet X seem to be running a deal thats too good to miss. See link

http://planetxireland.com/products-page/road/pro-carbon-ultegra-pre-order/

Is there something im missing or is this deal as good as it sounds. Ive also being looking at the cube from cycle superstore

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=57505

Budget is about €1500. Is there anything else out there.

TychoCaine

dots104 wrote: »

Hi Guys

Currently thinking about upgrading my current bike through the bike to work. Just seen that planet X seem to be running a deal thats too good to miss. See link

http://planetxireland.com/products-page/road/pro-carbon-ultegra-pre-order/

Is there something im missing or is this deal as good as it sounds. Ive also being looking at the cube from cycle superstore

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=57505

Budget is about €1500. Is there anything else out there.

The frame and gear hardware are great, but the chainset, brakes and wheelset belong on a bike 1/2 the price. It'll cost you €€€ to bring it up to "full" Ultegra spec. It's a bargain, but not as much as it seems.

billyhead

Does anyone think or have heard if the government will either modify the terms or pull the plug on the bike to work scheme next week?

Idleater

Doubt it.

dogsears

billyhead wrote: »

Does anyone think or have heard if the government will either modify the terms or pull the plug on the bike to work scheme next week?

No clear leak information that I've heard.

Every year there are some who maintain this scheme is for the chop. I think this year its more vulnerable than any other year for a couple of reasons:

- there's a natural 5 year life because anyone who used it in year 1 is eligible to go again from 2014.
- there is a feeling that its served its purpose i.e. most of the people who are going to use it have done so
- it wasn't introduced by this Government
- the motor industry is likely to be lobbying against continuation and has a loud voice
- there has been abuse - many a lawnmower in Irish garages bought on the BTW scheme
- some big employers (esp Public Sector) have been cribbing about the hassle it puts on their payroll/HR sections
- this isn't a Government that overly wedded to environmental issues.

Against that,

- Its popular
- It costs them very little in terms of tax foregone (though they don't know how much!) - and they get the VAT from sales that probably wouldn't have taken place absent the scheme
- Its helped rejuvenate an industry
- Vlad is a reasonably vocal advocate
- Inda is a cyclist (maybe it shouldn't be but that's a factor)
- There are bigger fish to fry

I'd be surprised if it was plugged to be honest. If it is, it prob won't apply with immediate effect, so anyone who hasn't used it yet will most likely still have time to get a bike for Christmas.

Dazzy

I'm looking to buy a bike using the Bike to work scheme. However, the company only process applications every 3 months and I just missed the cut off date. At this stage it will be December before I can avail of the scheme.

Would a bike shop be willing to let me pay full price now and then get a refund when the bike to work voucher is processed in a couple of months? Anyone ever manage to do this?

Vizzy

Dazzy wrote: »

I'm looking to buy a bike using the Bike to work scheme. However, the company only process applications every 3 months and I just missed the cut off date. At this stage it will be December before I can avail of the scheme.

Would a bike shop be willing to let me pay full price now and then get a refund when the bike to work voucher is processed in a couple of months? Anyone ever manage to do this?

Unfortunately, that is what is not allowed under the scheme. You will just have to wait.

imonboard

Is there companies out there that contribute money as well as the tax breaks you receive? Garda, prison service etc.Can you get more than 50% off? Can you buy 2 bikes for a total of 1000 euro?
Thanks

Squidgy Black

imonboard wrote: »

Is there companies out there that contribute money as well as the tax breaks you receive? Garda, prison service etc.Can you get more than 50% off? Can you buy 2 bikes for a total of 1000 euro?
Thanks

No. And no.

You pay for the bike usually through your wages, the employer deducts the payments either on a regular basis ie monthly/weekly or sometimes just a lump sum.

I haven't heard of any companies paying for the bikes for their employees. Particularly not any civil service positions.

Beasty

_Tyrrell_ wrote: »

I haven't heard of any companies paying for the bikes for their employees. Particularly not any civil service positions.

The rules do permit it, but companies cannot do it selectively - if they do it for one employee they would have to be prepared to do it for all employees

bren2001

Dazzy wrote: »

I'm looking to buy a bike using the Bike to work scheme. However, the company only process applications every 3 months and I just missed the cut off date. At this stage it will be December before I can avail of the scheme.

Would a bike shop be willing to let me pay full price now and then get a refund when the bike to work voucher is processed in a couple of months? Anyone ever manage to do this?

Not allowed under the scheme but bike shops will let you do it.

Beasty

bren2001 wrote: »

Not allowed under the scheme but bike shops will let you do it.

The bike shops don't care - the scheme is nothing to do with them - it's the employee that will be committing tax fraud

dogsears

Nothing about BTW scheme in today's Budget speech or the supporting documents released by the Department.

There is an outside possibility that if it was going to be abolished it might not be announced today and would just feature when the Finance Bill is released (the end of this month) but that's highly unlikely.

RainyDay

Dazzy wrote: »

Would a bike shop be willing to let me pay full price now and then get a refund when the bike to work voucher is processed in a couple of months? Anyone ever manage to do this?

The problem arises when the bike shop realises that they just refuse to give you the refund, and you can do feck all about it. You can't sue them for failing to comply with their side of a tax fraud. They get paid twice by you. It will be the most expensive bike you'll ever buy.

Beasty

RainyDay wrote: »

The problem arises when the bike shop realises that they just refuse to give you the refund, and you can do feck all about it. You can't sue them for failing to comply with their side of a tax fraud. They get paid twice by you. It will be the most expensive bike you'll ever buy.

To be absolutely clear - the shop are simply selling a bike - they have no interest in whether it's under the BTW scheme or not and are committing no fraud by selling the bike for cash now - only the person "buying" the bike is doing so when they claim it's under the BTW scheme

RainyDay

Beasty wrote: »

To be absolutely clear - the shop are simply selling a bike - they have no interest in whether it's under the BTW scheme or not and are committing no fraud by selling the bike for cash now - only the person "buying" the bike is doing so when they claim it's under the BTW scheme

A shop who gives a refund of cash paid earlier when they get their BTW payment after a couple of months is complicit in a tax fraud.

A customer who trusts a shop to give a refund when he knows that he has no way of enforcing that contract is very, very trusting.

Sad Professor

Once they have your money I can’t imagine why a shop would want to refund you. Especially since a lot of employers insist on using a third-party company to administer the scheme, who then charge the shop a fee for the trouble.

lochdara

I gave a €50 deposit to hold a bike while the b2w came through.. but the bugger sold my bike anyway, apparently by accident. I got sorted with a different bike and he gave me my deposit back but i got some extra stuff with it anyway,

sullzz

Hi folks , so the missus is thinking about upgrading her bike through the bike to work scheme she is a teacher so will be dealing with the dept of education , anyone know how these are to deal with , how quick they sort it etc. no one in her school has done it so she can't get any advice there , thanks in advance .

wirelessdude01

sullzz wrote: »

Hi folks , so the missus is thinking about upgrading her bike through the bike to work scheme she is a teacher so will be dealing with the dept of education , anyone know how these are to deal with , how quick they sort it etc. no one in her school has done it so she can't get any advice there , thanks in advance .

Mine took about 6weeks to be processed.

sullzz

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Mine took about 6weeks to be processed.

Thanks , is it true that they only do it only in certain months

wirelessdude01

sullzz wrote: »

Thanks , is it true that they only do it only in certain months

Think so. I put mine through last year at the end of August and had the bike by mid October.

Smokeyskelton

The Mrs. put through an order through the Department of education last year. There was a cut off for the year, think it was the end of November, but the link below seems to contradict that.

Here is a link, hopefully that has the answers - http://www.education.ie/en/Education-Staff/Services/Payroll-Financial/Cycle-to-Work/

It seems a bit older, but most recent I could find.

padyjoe

I don't want to be a smart@rse but to my surprise mine went through in 3-4 days. Still don't know I was lucky or not? (but had been thinking about which bike to get for nearly 3 months :-)))

Zorba

I done the bike2work scheme a few months ago.

Bought a bike for €650 and i have to pay it back over 4 months. So i'm working out cos i'm on the lower tax bracket i should be paying around €400 for the bike, but so far over €565 has been deducted from my wages !

Am i missing something here ?

Hunterbiker

Zorba wrote: »

I done the bike2work scheme a few months ago.

Bought a bike for €650 and i have to pay it back over 4 months. So i'm working out cos i'm on the lower tax bracket i should be paying around €400 for the bike, but so far over €565 has been deducted from my wages !

Am i missing something here ?

Is the repayment shown on your payslip as being taken from your gross pay (pay before tax) or net pay?

Zorba

Hunterbiker wrote: »

Is the repayment shown on your payslip as being taken from your gross pay (pay before tax) or net pay?

Gross pay and i'm down more than expected on my net pay. The 565 quid is gone from my net pay.

Hunterbiker

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/income_tax_credits_and_reliefs/cycle_to_work_scheme.html

Does this help?

You pay the cost of the bike back but as its not subject to tax and such like that is where the saving is derived from I believe.

Zorba

Hunterbiker wrote: »

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/tax/income_tax_credits_and_reliefs/cycle_to_work_scheme.html

Does this help?

You pay the cost of the bike back but as its not subject to tax and such like that is where the saving is derived from I believe.

Yeah checked that site out along with a few others, my understanding is if the bike costs 650 i'll pay around 400 for it but as i said so far i'm paying 565 plus i'm paying more paye too ! At this rate i would've been better just buying the bike outright

dogsears

You say "so far" - where are you in the 4 months i.e. how many left to go? What do you mean you say you're paying more PAYE too - do you mean more then before you started the 4 months?

CramCycle

@Zorba: If you have paid 565 so far, then that means you should only have 85 euro left out of your gross to pay. It looks like either they have a clerical error (my place done the same) or that they are deducting the cost over a shorter time period than 12 months (which they are perfectly entitled to do).

If it is option 1, get onto who ever sorts payroll and notify them.
If it is option 2, then nothing to worry about, deductions will stop shortly and you will still save.

Either way, 650euro will come out of your gross pay. The 400 is in relation to your net or "take home" pay reduction over the year.

The calculator here should give you a good idea of your actual reduction:
http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/bike2work.asp

Zorba

CramCycle wrote: »

@Zorba: If you have paid 565 so far, then that means you should only have 85 euro left out of your gross to pay. It looks like either they have a clerical error (my place done the same) or that they are deducting the cost over a shorter time period than 12 months (which they are perfectly entitled to do).

If it is option 1, get onto who ever sorts payroll and notify them.
If it is option 2, then nothing to worry about, deductions will stop shortly and you will still save.

Either way, 650euro will come out of your gross pay. The 400 is in relation to your net or "take home" pay reduction over the year.

The calculator here should give you a good idea of your actual reduction:
http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/bike2work.asp

Thanks for all the replies

Rang payroll and got it sorted, turns out i was paying more tax but it wasn't for the bike, only started paying for the bike the last 2 months so will wait and see how much i end up paying.

My mistake

Ilac

Hey! I finally got a call to say my bike was ready so I went to collect it only to discover it is the wrong colour. I'd never have bought this bike if it only came in this colour. I refused to take it out of the shop. The colour I test-drove and thought I was ordering was a once-off accident apparently. Salary sacrifies have already started and the bike shop has already been paid. What can I do now?

AltAccount

Tell your payroll people and write a letter to the bike shop detailing the issue and letting them know your payroll dept will be contacting them to organise a refund?

mloc123

I picked up a bike on the scheme in June 2009, I think every 5 years you are eligible for another one, does this mean I can pick up a new bike on the scheme in Jan 2014 or will I need to wait to June?

Beasty

mloc123 wrote: »

I picked up a bike on the scheme in June 2009, I think every 5 years you are eligible for another one, does this mean I can pick up a new bike on the scheme in Jan 2014 or will I need to wait to June?

January, as it's based on tax years, but that's subject to whatever your employer's scheme rules say

mloc123

Beasty wrote: »

January, as it's based on tax years, but that's subject to whatever your employer's scheme rules say

Cheers, and I was sure there was a mega thread... I even searched but did not find it.

Beasty

mloc123 wrote: »

Cheers, and I was sure there was a mega thread... I even searched but did not find it.

It's not only in the FAQs, but also was still on the front page when you posted :pac:

mloc123

Beasty wrote: »

It's not only in the FAQs, but also was still on the front page when you posted :pac:

oh dear

sullzz

So the missus put through her application for the bike to work with the dept of Ed . , she got a voice mail today saying that there is only one payment left this year ( which doesn't suit her to pay it out in one go ). She then said that they don't think it's going ahead for next year , did anyone else hear about that ?
Surely they would know by now if it was going to be going ahead if it runs from November to November ?
She is going to ring them back tomorrow afternoon , I'll repost after that to let ye all know what she finds out .

what_traffic

sullzz wrote: »

So the missus put through her application for the bike to work with the dept of Ed . , she got a voice mail today saying that there is only one payment left this year ( which doesn't suit her to pay it out in one go ). She then said that they don't think it's going ahead for next year , did anyone else hear about that ?

Was not raised in the Budget 2013 so one must assume it will carry on for 2014.

wirelessdude01

Individual employers can decide not to do it. In this cae the dept of ed can do that. Think that the HSE and another dept have stopped it.

sullzz

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Individual employers can decide not to do it. In this cae the dept of ed can do that. Think that the HSE and another dept have stopped it.

That's correct an employer is not obliged to carry out the btw scheme if the don't want to , she rang the department today , as far as they know it's not being carried on next year , the final payment this year is being taken out of the salaries on the 21st , so the better half is going to go for it rather than possibly missing out on the scheme , so it looks like my upgrade is going to have to be put on hold for a few months as I'm going to have to partially fund hers :mad:

billyhead

sullzz wrote: »

That's correct an employer is not obliged to carry out the btw scheme if the don't want to , she rang the department today , as far as they know it's not being carried on next year , the final payment this year is being taken out of the salaries on the 21st , so the better half is going to go for it rather than possibly missing out on the scheme , so it looks like my upgrade is going to have to be put on hold for a few months as I'm going to have to partially fund hers :mad:

Is it being pulled across the civil service i.e other departments surely they cant bin the scheme in one department and then carry it on in another?