Cycle to Work - Maximum

[Norm]

Whilst I'm sure that those who have got low valuations are happy and probably feeling a little boastful, can I suggest people don't post it on line.

Firstly, I don't care what a valuer says, a bike doesn't drop from £1k to £50 in a year.

Secondly, as with the other loopholes which have been closed (the original "one month's contributions" valuation and the VAT), when HMRC find out that people are taking the piss and posting about it, they will do something about it.

 

[Leodis]

I took the CS out in Jan and though I knew the new changes does this affect the final value? I got a £900 bike and so will end up paying £225 to take ownership of it, can I request a revaluation of the bike?

Think I will take the 7% extension and flog the thing and take out a new CS.

 

[lejogger]

I took the CS out in Jan and though I knew the new changes does this affect the final value? I got a £900 bike and so will end up paying £225 to take ownership of it, can I request a revaluation of the bike?

Think I will take the 7% extension and flog the thing and take out a new CS.

Everyone who has a new or existing scheme on the go will be liable to the final payment changes. It was only the VAT changes that allowed for existing schemes to run their course.

I take it your scheme is with CycleScheme? I think they have a couple of better options than the OP originally thought he had. I think most are taking the extension rather than paying the full whack. The extension allows CycleScheme to retain ownership for longer which in turn ensures that the residual value is less when the transfer does eventually happen.

Im not totally clued up on the details of how long the extension is or by how much the residual value will drop by for your particular scheme, but I would imagine that taking the extension is definitely the way to go. I think it's something like 5 or 6 years until the bike will have a 0% residual value however.

 

[Leodis]

Thanks Lejogger, I think it is extended by 3 years with 7% payment and after that the bike is basically yours or you can hand it to them or receive the 7% back, though I doubt they would say anything. Reason is I probs will take another scheme next year for a road or cross bike and don't have room for two bikes. We see.

 

[Soltydog]

Glad to hear the value has worked out ok on yours and Ben's, could have been better yes but definately now try to influence HR to change schemes.

WIth it being a TOC & they only have a couple of years left of the franchise, I'm not sure if they will run the scheme again & even if they do they will be unable to have an extended loan period after this time, so will end up with higher valuations. I dont need another bike anyway, although need & want is different

 

[Soltydog]

Whilst I'm sure that those who have got low valuations are happy and probably feeling a little boastful, can I suggest people don't post it on line.

Firstly, I don't care what a valuer says, a bike doesn't drop from £1k to £50 in a year.

Secondly, as with the other loopholes which have been closed (the original "one month's contributions" valuation and the VAT), when HMRC find out that people are taking the piss and posting about it, they will do something about it.

Point taken, Norm. I wasnt being boastful or taking the piss. I've ended up paying a little more than I expected when the scheme started 18 months ago. I'll edit my earlier post
IMHO there are bigger tax loopholes being exploted that HMRC should put there efforts into stopping

 

[lejogger]

...and don't have room for two bikes...

cough... splutter... what???!

Everyone has room for at n+1 if they try hard enough... I mean how much do you really NEED that wardrobe, and how often do you ACTUALLY sit on that sofa? Get a turbo trainer and you can just sit on the bike in front of the telly

 

[Norm]

IMHO there are bigger tax loopholes being exploted that HMRC should put there efforts into stopping

Can't dispute that one... but they've got form on the C2W stuff and it's easier to take a few pennies from people who are trying to do the right thing than it is to take back the billions from those who screw around intentionally.

 

[Nebulous]

I've read most of this thread - though I confess not it all, but I've just had an email from work saying we are signing up to cyclescheme.

It's a bit of a surprise, though it was talked about a while ago, but it could well be a route to a new bike.

I've a bit of reading, and a bit of thinking to do!

 

[User16625]

The danger during the period of the rental contract is that you have essentially given the money to your employer, on the expectation that they will sell you the bike at the end of the rental contract. They might not. They might sack you and a vindictive manager might decide to keep the bike. You have no redress.

.

fark that!! My previous employer would refuse to supply me PPE when I needed it and only provided it after a ridiculous period of time, forcing me to buy it myself (this is actually illegal, but im not a copper). Even if they did do a c2w scheme, it would take a right stupid git to bother with it. Glad I payed for my bikes off my own back.

 

[redcard]

I've read most of this thread - though I confess not it all, but I've just had an email from work saying we are signing up to cyclescheme.

It's a bit of a surprise, though it was talked about a while ago, but it could well be a route to a new bike.

I've a bit of reading, and a bit of thinking to do!

Think of it as in interest-free loan. The tax savings are a bonus!

 

[Soltydog]

Think of it as in interest-free loan. The tax savings are a bonus!

With the new HMRC guidlines basic tax payers will only end up saving around 7% You could probably negiotiate that discount yourself & if you want interest free credit, there's normally plenty of credit cards offering 0% on purchases

 

[lejogger]

With the new HMRC guidlines basic tax payers will only end up saving around 7% You could probably negiotiate that discount yourself & if you want interest free credit, there's normally plenty of credit cards offering 0% on purchases

Some schemes offer very small discounts... others don't. Mine for example still offers savings of between 30% and 50% depending on your taxation circumstances.
Don't knock them all when in some cases there are some excellent savings to be made

 

[paulw1969]

Some schemes offer very small discounts... others don't. Mine for example still offers savings of between 30% and 50% depending on your taxation circumstances.
Don't knock them all when in some cases there are some excellent savings to be made

My employer currently only provides the simple £500 i year ?bike loan, do you still think it is worth us pushing for C2W? i Have read most of this thread but tax incentives are not my strong point so can you perhaps recommend/clarify what we would ideally want the scheme to be based on i.e. would you say we would need the bike to be gifted at the end of say the third year etc to really make a difference to normal rate taxpayers? I ask as i think my employer is looking into C2W

 

[Altus]

My employer currently only provides the simple £500 i year ?bike loan, do you still think it is worth us pushing for C2W?

The answer is probably yes. If you go to the cyclescheme website for example you can key in your earnings and purchase price of bike and it'll work out cost of bike during first year. Then you just have to consider the final valuation fee which as long as the scheme provider chosen by your company offers the 3 year extension should reduce final price to a suitable amount to still save a good amount on purchasing a new bike for commuting. How much you save really depends on your tax rate. Some retailers are now also offering sale bikes on C2W (Evans) so you could get a good deal on a 2011 bike and see very good savings on an already discounted bike.