MOD Tax Refunds

A question about : MOD Tax Refunds

Hello,

I've not posted in this forum before, so hope you can shed some light on this question.

My husband is in the army and over the last few months a few of his colleages have been dealing with a company called 'Rift'. Rift will organise a claim for a tax rebate on service personnel's behalf (along with other sectors, such as construction, etc) for a whopping 28% + VAT fee!!

I'veloked into it and like most things have found that we can do it ourselves for the cost of our time and a stamp! I've printed off the form P87 to claim a Tax relief for expenses incurred travelling to location which is not the normal place of work (such as when he's been sent on training courses and has had to use his own transport) for the past 4 tax years. A bit gaulling that it's the 5th April today so we've lost the chance to claim for the 2008-2009 tax year, but never mind.

However, Rift state that they are able to submit a claim for travel from home to base. This appears to be different to the claim I am submitting with the P87. A colleague of his has included travelling from his married quarter to regular daily base in his claim through Rift:

https://www.riftuk.com/MOD.aspx

I have searched the HMRC and 'google' but can't find an information about claiming for normal daily travel?

Has anyone heard of it?

Thanks.

Best answers:

• You can only claim relief on the difference between 45p and the MMA rate for duty travel but nothing for RPOD (normal daily travel)
• Thanks. I think the same.
  From what I've read it seems that claims can only be made for travel from home to temporary place of work - minus the distance between home and normal place of work. He hasn't received any expense payments except the daily allowance they used to pay - Ј5 a day - so no payments for travel using own car.
• I have just been told today that you can claim for HDT and that the Royal Marines do it on the P87.
  How true it is I don't know, but I'm going to fill in the form and see what the tax office.
  I always thought it was the same as stated above, that you can only claim for duty travel.
• This thread on pprune may be relevant. Although 2011 it is still valid
• Just had a look on HMRC and it seems they are either claiming fraudulently or talking bollox, neither of which is a surprise for Royal...
  An employee's remuneration for tax purposes is reduced by the cost
  of journeys:
  •
  he or she has to make in the performance of the duties of the
  employment, or
  •
  to a workplace he or she has to attend to carry out the duties of the
  employment, but not if the journey is ordinary commuting or private travel.
• Just to add - for the 24 month 'temporary place of work' bit to apply, the posting has to be formally expected to last less than 24 months, and actually last less than 24 months. If the expectation increases to over 24 months at any stage, tax relief also ceases to apply from the date of the change of expectation (not the end of the 24 months). Or it was last time I checked, about 18 months ago.
• Being in the Navy, is there a noddy guide anywhere for this? Don't fancy giving RIFT any cut of any potential money I am due.
• You absolute toilet fergie76, if you know enough about Royal too bad mouth them and essentially call them liars and fraudsters, then surely you know that the usual length of draft for a bootneck is 2 years. Which luckily enough classifies, according to HMRC, every draft a bootneck does as a temporary place of work. So please research before you start bad mouthing the corps!
  If anybody in the armed forces would like more information on fuel allowances and are entitled too a refund please let me know via message and i can point you in the right direction. As us Royal have a very friendly and helpful chartered accountant company that deals with most of our claims for a very small fee.
• Welcome to the Forum Tomwebb5!
• tomwebb may be a newbie but is spot on - typical RM and many RN appointments are 18-24 months before revolving round to a new unit/establishment, unlike our Army or Crabbie friends who can go for vast chunks of whole careers in the same barracks or air station.
  I think Fergie's (unintentionally disparaging, I hope) post was simply the product of a lack of appreciation that other Services do do things differently...usually for good reason!
• And I thought bootnecks could take banter...