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

nak

Idleater wrote: »

As clearly evidenced by the last 4(?) budgets :rolleyes:

Regarding the 400 applicants and 47 bikes in the post above, qualifying journeys include cycling to the train/bus. Even then, the scheme is based on intent. You could have the best of intentions of cycling to work but have a horrid first commute and ditch the bike in the shed for eternity without making a mockery of the scheme.

Sadly most of those people had no intention of cycling to work as a lot of them live an hour plus drive from work (the transport survey asked for commute distance) and wouldn't dream of using public transport (example from last week - "she had to get the bus today - oh my god the poor thing").

Most of those bikes are in garages unused after New Year's resolutions to get fit.

wirelessdude01

nak wrote: »

Most of those bikes are in garages unused after New Year's resolutions to get fit.

Or quite a few I know were bought by those in the higher tax bracket and then sold at about 300e reduction on the retail price thus netting the individual a 200e profit. All rough figures but you know what I'm saying.

jobseek

Sorry if these questions have been asked before.
Is commuting distance taken into account or looked at by revenue, my travel distance would be 23 miles, so not sure if i would be fit for that initially, id be intending to cycle part of the journey at first and then move onto whole journey
Also, i think the answer is yes, but does the employer benefit from this scheme, if paying up to 1000 up front for the bike & gear?
Thanks

Beasty

jobseek wrote: »

Sorry if these questions have been asked before.
Is commuting distance taken into account or looked at by revenue, my travel distance would be 23 miles, so not sure if i would be fit for that initially
Also, i think the answer is yes, but does the employer benefit from this scheme, if paying up to 1000 up front for the bike & gear?
Thanks

Commuting distance is irrelevant. You must intend to use the bike mainly for commuting. You can cycle part of the way into work, or perhaps do it one way while you build up if you want

If, of course, you do not intend using it mainly for commuting you do not qualify

Idleater

Beasty wrote: »

Commuting distance is irrelevant. You must intend to use the bike mainly for commuting. You can cycle part of the way into work...

I think the term used is qualifying journeys. Iirc the literature says cycling to the bus stop is a qualifying journey.

wicklowwonder

Beasty wrote: »

Commuting distance is irrelevant. You must intend to use the bike mainly for commuting. You can cycle part of the way into work, or perhaps do it one way while you build up if you want

If, of course, you do not intend using it mainly for commuting you do not qualify

But then again your intentions can change as soon as you buy the bike.

mr spuckler

plus no company ever checks / asks questions etc

Idleater

mr spuckler wrote: »

plus no company ever checks / asks questions etc

Mine did, as in they ensured their compliance in the scheme by me signing my compliance.

The previous comments are within the remit of the scheme as defined, yours hint otherwise.

mr spuckler

Idleater wrote: »

Mine did, as in they ensured their compliance in the scheme by me signing my compliance.

The previous comments are within the remit of the scheme as defined, yours hint otherwise.

so they asked you to sign a form prior to giving you a tax break stating that you will use the bike primarily for journeys to work? every company will do this, it wasn't what i was getting at in my comment, which was more about what happens after the bike is purchased.

i'm not sure that a company is obliged to monitor usage after the purchase or if it's practical to do so as per your previous comments re intent? if not then my comments (which could have been more explicit) are within the remit of the scheme also, for all that it matters

nak

I wasn't asked what I would be using the bike for.

Beasty

If salary sacrifice arrangements are used that's a change in the employment terms. I ensure that all participants in the scheme where I work sign a form that confirms the revised contractual arrangements and that the intention of the employee is to use the bike mainly for commuting/qualifying journeys

mr spuckler

topical article on the journal

http://thescore.thejournal.ie/cycle-to-work-questions-1420718-Apr2014/

Q: Do I have to use the bike to travel to and from work?
A: The bike must be used for part or the full journey to and from work. There’s no obligation on your employer to check how you’re using the bike. But, they should ask you for a signed statement that only you will be using the bike and that it will be used to travel to and from work.

No Pants

jobseek wrote: »

does the employer benefit from this scheme, if paying up to 1000 up front for the bike & gear?
Thanks

I believe that they benefit by paying less Employer's PRSI.

jobseek

Thanks for replies, what i would be intending to do is cycle part of the journey if that counts at the start to get my fitness levels up , then take whole journey. my earlier post may have gave the wrong idea/impression the way it was said, i agree btw scheme shouldnt be a means to get a cheaper bike!

No Pants

jobseek wrote: »

btw scheme shouldnt be a means to get a cheaper bike!

jimmythedivil

I'm thinking of getting a decent bike on the cycle to work scheme but need to figure out what it will cost me per week. If I get a bike/gear for 1000 euro how much is it going to cost me per week on my take home pay?

Most people I know are spending the full 1000 Euro but they would be earning a good bit more than me and on a higher tax rate as I'm in an entry level position. Would it be worth spending the full 1k on a bike or could I get something decent for 600?

Idleater

On the lower tax bracket you only get a 25%(?) discount which imo is not worthwhile. Save up for a while, buy a bike outright in a sale or second hand.

fabvinny

MOD VOICE: Deleted

CramCycle

MOD VOICE: Just to clarify for anyone who saw fabvinnys post. The suggestion that was made is fraud and it has been mentioned in thread before. Any questions please PM me, do not discuss in thread.

jobseek

Idleater wrote: »

On the lower tax bracket you only get a 25%(?) discount which imo is not worthwhile. Save up for a while, buy a bike outright in a sale or second hand.

Why not?
isnt it money saved that could be put towards other gear?

jimmythedivil

jobseek wrote: »

Why not?
isnt it money saved that could be put towards other gear?

That's what I was thinking... I was told that it would equate to about 9 euros a week to pay over the year, so perhaps it's more of a saving than I thought.

jobseek

if you log onto http://www.bikes4work.ie/ there is a savings calculater, it will show what you will save, i am thinking of getting a bike too, and im thinking of using the full 1000, it may seem like a lot but when spread over the year its not that much per week, it could be spent worse imo.

Idleater

Idleater wrote: »

On the lower tax bracket you only get a 25%(?) discount which imo is not worthwhile. Save up for a while, buy a bike outright in a sale or second hand.

jobseek wrote: »

Why not?
isnt it money saved that could be put towards other gear?

In my opinion a 20% discount is attainable by shopping around.

If you have the possibility of earning above the standard rate cut off (and take pension and other allowances into account) at some point within the next 5 years, then imo you are better off using the btw to get €500 off rather than €200.

Also, accessories would be doing well to last 5 years so again imo these are best left external to the btw scheme.

No Pants

jimmythedivil wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting a decent bike on the cycle to work scheme but need to figure out what it will cost me per week. If I get a bike/gear for 1000 euro how much is it going to cost me per week on my take home pay?

Check the process with your employer too. Not every employer spreads the salary sacrifice over a year. For example, my previous employer took the entire payment in one from the next salary due.

TouchingVirus

This is an odd one, but I think I've been hard done by this system and am looking for advice.

I purchased a bike in February for the full cost of €994 under the scheme. A salary sacrifice over six months was the agreement in place with monthly payments of €165.66. The first payment was taken in March, reducing my tax liability by €165.66 so my tax paid was lower, everything was hunky dory. I worked out the net cost of the bike would be around €450.

I left my job in the first week of April, being paid a few days ago on the 28th. The rest of the cost of the bike was paid back to the company (€828.34). The thing is I was due to pay little tax in April (since I only had two weeks wage) and thus I have not received the expected tax relief on the bike. In effect this means I've just paid €600 for the bike, not to mention being shafted for this entire month by a lower than expected wage.

Surely this isn't right, that the relief on the final lump sum is based on that final payslip? What if I left after one week, I could have ended up on less than the weekly dole by the current rules. If I left 3 weeks into the month I'd have gotten the full, expected relief. It just seems insane to me.

CramCycle

If I understand what you have said correctly, you will get the remainder tax relief through your P21 or through a re issue of your tax credits for your next employment. It will be hard to see but it will basically work out that your yearly gross is down by the price of the bike. If you are going into employment again before the end of the year, then you will get the bike for about 450 as expected, if you don't then it will depend on wether your annual salary brings you into any of the tax bands or not.

Put your expected wage by the end of the year in here: http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/bike2work.asp and you will see what you will have saved even if it is not apparent now.

Trhiggy83

Hi Lads,
I have been reading through this thread and still a bit confused about how much tax i will pay.
I have looked at a few different calculators online and seem to be getting a few different figures.

Anyone know an up to date calculator as im almost sure that i will only get 31% tax relief but some sites are telling me 52% tax relief on my gross

Idleater

If you know how much you earn annually, then you can work out how much tax you pay.
The bike comes off your gross so you earn (say) €1000 less. Therefore you need to earn €33500 and not make any other claims or pension payments etc to make the "full" saving.

tamaskan

Hi, I'm all ready to go ahead and purchase a Canyon on the BTW scheme. My employer hasn't used the scheme before but are happy for me to purchase from Canyon. They want me to do the research for them on what they have to do to set it up. I read through the first ten pages of this thread on my lunch break, but couldn't find any info on buying from an online only retailer. Can anyone go through the steps my employer and I will need to go through to get the bike from Canyon? My company are happy to pay by bank transfer or credit card. Thank you so much in advance.

Edit: apologies, I see from the first page that the information I need is there. Just let me know if I am right or wrong.

So, I get an invoice from canyon after providing them with my company's Vat number. They then can send me the bike minus German vat. I get the bike and my company pays Irish vat on the bike at 21%.
After that all they do is deduct from my wages over a set amount of months.

Do my employers need to do anything else with regards to the tax office? I just have to explain all this to my boss. Thanks

CramCycle

tamaskan wrote: »

Do my employers need to do anything else with regards to the tax office? I just have to explain all this to my boss. Thanks

Nope, its a deduction from your gross salary and it should be marked on your wage slip but the tax office do not have to be notified as far as I am aware unless specifically asked.