Finance Act 2001

57 Mileage allowances: exemptions and relief

(1) In Chapter 4 of Part 5 of the Taxes Act 1988 (provisions relating to the Schedule E charge: other exemptions and reliefs), after section 197AC insert—

“Mileage allowances

197AD Mileage allowance payments

(1) There is no charge to tax under Schedule E in respect of approved mileage allowance payments for a qualifying vehicle.

(2) Mileage allowance payments are amounts (other than passenger payments within the meaning of section 197AE(2)) paid to an employee in respect of expenses in connection with the use by him for business travel of a qualifying vehicle.

(3) Mileage allowance payments are approved only if, or to the extent that, for a tax year, the total amount of all the mileage allowance payments made to the employee for the kind of vehicle in question does not exceed the approved amount for mileage allowance payments applicable to that kind of vehicle.

(4) Subsection (1) above does not apply if—

(a) the employee is a passenger in the vehicle, or

(b) the vehicle is a company vehicle.

197AE Passenger payments

(1) There is no charge to tax under Schedule E in respect of approved passenger payments made to an employee for a car or van (whether or not it is a company vehicle) if—

(a) mileage allowance payments (within the meaning of section 197AD(2)) are made to the employee for the car or van, and

(b) if the car or van is made available to the employee by reason of his employment, he is chargeable to tax in respect of it under section 157 or 159AA (cars and vans made available for private use).

(2) Passenger payments are amounts paid to an employee because, while using a car or van for business travel, he carries one or more qualifying passengers in it.

• “Qualifying passenger” means a passenger who is also an employee for whom the travel is business travel.

(3) Passenger payments are approved only if, or to the extent that, for a tax year, the total amount of all the passenger payments made to the employee does not exceed the approved amount for passenger payments.

(4) Section 168(6) (when cars and vans are made available by reason of employment) applies for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) above.

197AF Mileage allowance relief

(1) An employee is entitled to mileage allowance relief for a tax year if the employee uses a qualifying vehicle for business travel and—

(a) no mileage allowance payments are made to him for the kind of vehicle in question for the tax year, or

(b) the total amount of all the mileage allowance payments made to him for the kind of vehicle in question for the tax year is less than the approved amount for mileage allowance payments applicable to that kind of vehicle.

(2) Subsection (1) above does not apply if—

(a) the employee is a passenger in the vehicle, or

(b) the vehicle is a company vehicle.

(3) The amount of mileage allowance relief to which an employee is entitled for a tax year is—

(a) if subsection (1)(a) above applies, the approved amount for mileage allowance payments applicable to the kind of vehicle in question;

(b) if subsection (1)(b) above applies, the difference between the total amount of all the mileage allowance payments made to the employee for the kind of vehicle in question and the approved amount for mileage allowance payments applicable to that kind of vehicle.

(4) In this section “mileage allowance payments” has the meaning given by section 197AD(2).

197AG Giving effect to mileage allowance relief

(1) Mileage allowance relief to which an employee is entitled for a tax year is given effect as follows.

(2) Where any emoluments of the employment fall within Case I or IIof Schedule E, the relief is allowed as a deduction from those emoluments in calculating the amount chargeable to tax for that tax year.

(3) In the case of emoluments chargeable under Case III of Schedule E for a tax year there may be deducted from those emoluments the amount of any mileage allowance relief—

(a) for that tax year, and

(b) for any earlier tax year in which the employee was resident in the United Kingdom,

which might have been deducted from the emoluments of the employment for the tax year for which the employee is entitled to the relief if those emoluments had been chargeable under Case I of Schedule E.

(4) Subsection (3) above applies only to the extent that the mileage allowance relief cannot be deducted under subsection (2) above.

(5) A deduction shall not be made twice, whether under subsection (2) or (3) above, in respect of the same mileage allowance relief.

197AH Interpretation of sections 197AD to 197AG

Schedule 12AA to this Act defines terms used in sections 197AD to 197AG.”.

(2) In the Taxes Act 1988 insert as Schedule 12AA the Schedule set out in Part 1 of Schedule 12 to this Act.

(3) The consequential amendments in Part 2 of Schedule 12 to this Act have effect.

(4) This section has effect for the year 2002-03 and subsequent years of assessment.