Hi all,
I’m a carer for my old Mum. Part of that involves a lot of driving - to & fro between my house & hers; shopping; trips to doctor, nurse, dentist etc; and days out (she loves her zoos!). It’s about time I asked her to contribute to my driving costs. I know she’s happy and able to pay. But I’m not certain what rate I should be using.
Everything I look at online seems to be aimed at employees and self employed. They mostly mention the Government rate of 45p per mile. Is this a fair rate? And is there some independent source out there to say so? I’m sure she’ll pay what I ask for, but I don’t want to take advantage, and I don’t want to give my siblings the opportunity to claim that I’m taking advantage…
Background:
I’m there 2-3 nights a week. She receives AA. I’m in receipt of Carers Allowance. There is a POA but I prefer not to use it if possible, as I regard her as having mental capacity. There is some tension in the family, so I want to do everything by the book.
The car is a wheelchair-adapted Fiat Doblo, so quite expensive to run. (She doesn’t need the ramp at present, as she can transfer wheelchair to passenger seat, but I bought the car to support my Father in his final year or so).
Total mileage for 2019 in support of Mum was 3,721 miles made up of:
- my house to hers and back: 1203 miles
- trips solely for shopping/medical appointments etc: 615 miles
- days out (zoos, gardens, museums etc) (includes some medical appointments en route) 1,904
So at 45p/mile I’d be asking for £1,674 for the year.
Thoughts?
James
Hi JJ … welcome to an extremely quiet forum.
A carer claiming CA purports to charge his caree for " Additional services " rendered ?
( In my time , perhaps a new pair of shoes for every 100 miles pushing my mother in her wheelchair ? )
Out of pocket expenses … not unreasonable.
Be very vary of THE BOOK … in the shape of the Doleman and TaxMan … in new money , the DWP and HMRC.
One thread which connects … possible use of AA ( Which your mother receives ) to " Pay " the carer :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/carer-disability-benefits/attendance-allowance-pip-dla-sdp-paid-to-family-carer-there-are-problems-not-advertised-33078?hilit=attendance%20allowance
( A thread that asks a lot of practical questions … with no definite answers … so far ! )
Perhaps the DWP intended for AA to cover such costs ?
Trouble is , what if the carer was also claiming income related benefits ?
Or , when adding on these monies , the carer’s income took him / her into paying income tax , or to a new , higher , band ?
I’ll leave that for the above thread to fully set out that conundrum !
As for the " Rate " to be charged … and if seen to being by the book … HMRC site for the rates they , themselves , would expect to see claimants charge against tax liabilities.
Chris will come along who has the financial head. If you charge over £0.45 tax becomes an element.
Thank CftG and SD for the swift replies, and especially to the link to discussion about Attendance Allowance, which I didnt spot when I did my cursory search for previous answers!
To anwer one point right now - I’m absolutey not trying to charge my Mum for “additional services” - it is all about trying to get fair expenses repaid. The reason for my question is to try to find out what is fair. At the moment I am subsidising my Mum by giving her free travel. And much as I love her, I also need to pay for my petrol, and tyres, and servicing/repairs, and bear the brunt of crippling depreciation.
And further background - I’m not claiming any income-related benefits, but that shouldn’t make any difference as all I want is my own expenses repaid.
Your welcome.
Additional services ?
I used the DWP / HMRC terminology … addition expenses in CarerLand are far too commonplace … and subject to " Misinterpretation "
by both those Government departments.
Hence that infamous thread of mine … infamous … as far as getting practical answers , that is ?
Whether " They " would allow repairs / servicing / depreciation is another matter … purely rhetoric !
( No problem if the carer stops claiming CA in favour of becoming an employee of the carer ! )
Several references to that scenario scattered across some threads !
Unlike the partnership of a husband and wife … wherein marshaling may be done to take advantage of income … a carer and caree
do not share the same advantage when monies pass from one to the other.
Can you go to the garage and say the fuel is for your mum, so can you have it for free? Of course not!
I would suggest that you keep a note of the mileage every month, and then use a card on MUM’S account to put the equivalent amount of fuel in your car.
I had an extra card on my housebound mum’s Mastercard account, so whatever I bought for her went on this card, not mine, and it worked very well. Like you, I needed her to pay her way, but not to make a profit from it.
My son with LD has carers who take him out, they charge 45p a mile too.
Can I ask who bought the car? Is it mum’s or yours? If you bought a larger car than you would otherwise need, then she could contribute extra in recognition of that fact.
If the rest of the family don’t like her paying you, the answer is simple, stand aside and let them do it! Of course, they will then produce a range of pathetic excuses why they can’t, as it suits them for you to be mum’s taxi!