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

iwillhtfu

awec wrote: »

Why would any shop take this risk? I don't believe this to be true.

It is true it was reported on a couple of years ago if I remember correctly although they've clamped down on this I believe.

Lads still buy parts such as wheels etc on the bike 2 work tbh.

awec

iwillhtfu wrote: »

It is true it was reported on a couple of years ago if I remember correctly although they've clamped down on this I believe.

Lads still buy parts such as wheels etc on the bike 2 work tbh.

I've heard of people buying parts instead of bikes. I've also heard of shops allowing customers to put the extra money behind the till so they are claiming relief against the full 1k even if they don't spend it in that specific transaction.

donutheadhomer

Eamonnator wrote: »

No. It is a cycle to work scheme. It's not a cycle to school scheme(unless you're a teacher)

The law doesn't seem to say anything about home workers as in workers who work exclusively from home. They are not able to cycle to work yet or still employees in law. You think an employer could refuse a home based worker on the grounds that they couldn't use the bike to cycle to work. I also know someone who gets the train daily from Limerick to Dublin for work yet has bought a bike under this scheme. Perhaps it should be renamed the "Cycling Tax Refund" or perhaps a similar scheme should be operated to encourage people to join Gyms.

Beasty

We've covered it off many times in the thread - complete bikes plus specified safety equipment only, and it must be the intention of the employee to use the bike mainly for cycling to work. If it's not as laid down in the rules it's against the law. Anyone posting here in a way that encourages others to break the law is breaking forum, and indeed site, rules

Beasty

donutheadhomer wrote: »

The law doesn't seem to say anything about home workers as in workers who work exclusively from home. They are not able to cycle to work yet or still employees in law. You think an employer could refuse a home based worker on the grounds that they couldn't use the bike to cycle to work. I also know someone who gets the train daily from Limerick to Dublin for work yet has bought a bike under this scheme. Perhaps it should be renamed the "Cycling Tax Refund" or perhaps a similar scheme should be operated to encourage people to join Gyms.

If their home is their office they cannot avail of the scheme (as is the case for the self employed)

EDIT: See below - there are circumstances where this may be justified, but the "mainly" bit remains relevant

donutheadhomer

Beasty wrote: »

If their home is their office they cannot avail of the scheme (as is the case for the self employed)

What are you basing that on? I don't see anything that explicitly rules out employees who work at home

Beasty

donutheadhomer wrote: »

What are you basing that on? I don't see anything that explicitly rules out employees who work at home

If your place of work is your office you simply cannot "mainly" use the bike for cycling to work

donutheadhomer

Beasty wrote: »

If your place of work is your office you simply cannot "mainly" use the bike for cycling to work

See page 2 of the FAQ.
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/benefit-in-kind/cycle-work-faqs.pdf

Eamonnator

donutheadhomer wrote: »

See page 2 of the FAQ.
http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/benefit-in-kind/cycle-work-faqs.pdf

Well done, I think you have it.
But, you still can't claim for your kid, cycling to school.

TychoCaine

Beasty wrote: »

The employer is not required to offer the employee credit (although most do). It's entirely up to them - they could seek the salary sacrifice in one go. Obviously that moves the "financing" onto the employee, but they still get a tax free bike (through a 1 off rather than 12 monthly payments)

Most do, and that's my point. It can cause cash flow problems to smaller companies when several people come out of the woodwork all at once looking for €1k to buy a bike. Using a scheme means they don't have to dip into the company overdraft to pay for it.

Beasty

And the point I'm making is employers are not required to participate in teh BTW scheme, but if they do have a funding/cashflow issue they can simply pass that part onto the employee (who still "wins" overall, as they get the tax benefit, although the employer also gets a PRSI benefit which may help justify their participation) if they wish - that avoids a 3rd party taking a slice of the cake

CramCycle

Beasty wrote: »

And the point I'm making is employers are not required to participate in teh BTW scheme, but if they do have a funding/cashflow issue they can simply pass that part onto the employee (who still "wins" overall, as they get the tax benefit, although the employer also gets a PRSI benefit which may help justify their participation) if they wish - that avoids a 3rd party taking a slice of the cake

The employer also pays slightly less employer PRSI as well

micar

micar wrote: »

In essence....yes. you buy kids bikes but the invoice from the shop will have say that an adult bike was bought for the same price.

I've heard stories of people buying gardening equipment like lawn mowers on the scheme. The invoice just says a bike was bought.

Eamonnator wrote: »

It is against the law to do either of these.

It might be against the law but it does occur.

Just to state that I bought a bike in the scheme in excess of €1k.

I'm eligible to do it again this year and hopefully if my company agrees I hope to buy a very nice canyon.

awec

There's no rule against spending more than 1k. You just get tax relief on the first 1k you spend.

Unfortunately I'm not due again til 2017

LollipopJimmy

I just started the ball rolling for the cycle to work scheme and was hoping to avail of the salary sacrifice. The thing is my employer has said they want it in one payment.

I know employees higher up the food chain have availed of this and paid over 6 or 12 months.

I am permanent and full time and have been an employee here for almost 2 years. Any advice on what I should say back to HR?

Beasty

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I just started the ball rolling for the cycle to work scheme and was hoping to avail of the salary sacrifice. The thing is my employer has said they want it in one payment.

I know employees higher up the food chain have availed of this and paid over 6 or 12 months.

I am permanent and full time and have been an employee here for almost 2 years. Any advice on what I should say back to HR?

I've moved your post into the relevant megathread (please read the FAQs before starting a thread like this)

The rules of the scheme should be applied consistently - unless those rules have changed they should offer you the same extended payment period as they have to other employees

fat bloke

It is a handy way of getting it all paid off in one go in a sort of a way, but you could also get a credit union loan or something for the duration, or half the duration and the interest would only be very small on 500 odd notes over 6 months or whatever?

RainyDay

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I just started the ball rolling for the cycle to work scheme and was hoping to avail of the salary sacrifice. The thing is my employer has said they want it in one payment.

I know employees higher up the food chain have availed of this and paid over 6 or 12 months.

I am permanent and full time and have been an employee here for almost 2 years. Any advice on what I should say back to HR?

Your question is more about how things work in your company than the btw scheme. What's the best way of getting things done in your organisation.

Maybe you need a senior exec on your side, or your line manager before you go to HR. Maybe you need to involve your trade union. Maybe you need to throw a tantrum. I don't think anyone here can really advise you - it's more of a standard workplace fairness issue than a bike issue.

CramCycle

I'd be more concerned that my employer doesn't see you around in 6 to 12 months to finish out the scheme :pac:




only messing, they can still take it out of your last pay cheque :P

B00MSTICK

Quick one folks, supposing I have a cert for €1000 but only spend €900ish on the bike + accessories, do the bike shops put the rest on a gift card for spending on consumables/maintenance or is it just gone?
I guess it's possible that it will depend on the shop in question?

iwillhtfu

The easiest answer is No.

Why not spend the full 1000 if you're concerned about servicing most bike shops will throw in 1 or 2 services I think wheel worx offer lifetime servicing or something like that

rubadub

B00MSTICK wrote: »

I guess it's possible that it will depend on the shop in question?

Probably, you are not supposed to be able but I have heard of people getting it.

The exemptions are pretty stupid. I was going to say get some tyres or tubes as I told a guy I know who was not going to use the full allowance.

But now I see you cannot buy tubes or tyres or several other things you might need to replace in the next 5 years, like cassettes, brake cables, brake pads, chains etc. Many people might want to replace the saddle or tyres right away, I suppose they could talk to the bike shop, but some might want different tyres for different seasons.

I wonder if there was good reason for this, or was it an oversight.

What equipment does the scheme apply to?

The scheme applies to new bicycles and pedelecs (electrically assisted bicycles which require some effort from the cyclist). It does not cover motorbikes, scooters or mopeds.

Purchase of the following new safety equipment is also covered:

Cycle helmets which conform to European standard EN 1078
Bells and bulb horns
Lights, including dynamo packs
Mirrors and mudguards to ensure that the rider’s visibility is not impaired
Cycle clips and dress guards
Panniers, luggage carriers and straps to allow luggage to be safely carried
Locks and chains to ensure cycle can be safely secured
Pumps, puncture repair kits, cycle tool kits and tyre sealant to allow for minor repairs
Reflective clothing along with white front reflectors and spoke reflectors

link_2007

B00MSTICK wrote: »

Quick one folks, supposing I have a cert for €1000 but only spend €900ish on the bike + accessories, do the bike shops put the rest on a gift card for spending on consumables/maintenance or is it just gone?
I guess it's possible that it will depend on the shop in question?

Some do (well the one I went to certainly did).

Put down the value of the bike as €1k and let me use the difference between that and the actual cost as store credit.

Probably easiest to ask while you're in there.

dogsears

Lots of shops do things that aren't covered under the scheme (not always knowingly). No matter whether the list of permitted items that can be purchased under the scheme looks stupid or otherwise, these are the kinds of situations that might in time lead the Revenue to consider withdrawing the scheme on the basis of perceived abuse.

I don't think that's very likely in the short term but the more the scheme is abused the more likely it becomes.

I suggest you either spend the full €1000 on the bike + safety equipment as prescribed, or forego the tax relief on what you don't spend.

CramCycle

link_2007 wrote: »

Some do (well the one I went to certainly did).

Put down the value of the bike as €1k and let me use the difference between that and the actual cost as store credit.

MOD VOICE: And some are therefore certainly breaking the law, please leave the discussion of this off the forum.

The_Pete_Fella

Hi Guys,

I’ve seen that others here have purchased canyon bikes on the BTW scheme and have been able to obtain a vat free invoice. When I gave them the company’s vat number and tried to do it this week they have informed me that they cannot issue a vat free invoice and that I must make any arrangement myself with an accountant / HMRC to handle any VAT refund.

If anyone has done this before and has a ticket number of the email conversation betweed you and Canyon , would they be willing to share it with me so I can refrence it to canyon?

Thanks for any help,

Pete

bazermc

HMRC is the UK Tax authorities!

This is Ireland - no her majesty here

Fian

The_Pete_Fella wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I’ve seen that others here have purchased canyon bikes on the BTW scheme and have been able to obtain a vat free invoice. When I gave them the company’s vat number and tried to do it this week they have informed me that they cannot issue a vat free invoice and that I must make any arrangement myself with an accountant / HMRC to handle any VAT refund.

If anyone has done this before and has a ticket number of the email conversation betweed you and Canyon , would they be willing to share it with me so I can refrence it to canyon?

Thanks for any help,

Pete

This may vary between employers. I know i can not buy from Canyon on BTW, in fact I received a Rose bike last week and no BTW for me, even though I would be eligible from an irish shop since it is >5 years since my last use of the scheme.

The_Pete_Fella

bazermc wrote: »

HMRC is the UK Tax authorities!

This is Ireland - no her majesty here

yeah but the bike is being distributed from canyon UK so I am paying vat to hm.

Fian wrote: »

This may vary between employers. I know I cannot buy from Canyon on BTW, in fact I received a Rose bike last week and no BTW for me, even though I would be eligible from an irish shop since it is >5 years since my last use of the scheme.

some employers use a third party aggregator to manage their BTW but as we are only a small office were doing it ourselves so can purchase from any source.

xebec

The_Pete_Fella wrote: »

yeah but the bike is being distributed from canyon UK so I am paying vat to hm.

My understanding of trade across the EU is limited, but why would you expect to purchase the bike VAT free? If you did get it VAT free then surely your employer would have to apply Irish VAT to it before charging you for the bike and remit that to Revenue?