Not Classed as Self  Employed for business lease?

Not Classed as Self Employed for business lease?

11:00 AM, 26th July 2016, About 8 years ago 5

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I am in the process of trying to complete a ” Business Lease ” on a car from BMW and have hit a stumbling block . They are stipulating I must be Self Employed or have a Business in order to lease a car under a Business Contract.BMW

Now here is where the problem lies – HMRC classes rental income from property / properties you own as investment income therefore there is no need to register as self employed but in essence if this is your sole income every one else considers you to be self employed – Banks etc , Well everyone except BMW !!

I have sent them my tax returns which only shows Rental Income and although that is my sole means of Income they do not consider me self employed. How can I persuade them that although HMRC does not require me to be registered as self employed , technically I am and therefore should be entitled to the Business Deal .

It’s not even about reclaiming the Vat , its the fact that certain deals are only made available to Business Customers and not Personal and unless I persuade them I am a Business Customer they will not allow the deal to go ahead.

Any useful information would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks in advance

Mark


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Comments

Neil Patterson

11:01 AM, 26th July 2016, About 8 years ago

Hi Mark,

Is the issue that the payment have to go through a registered company?

Jon Pipllman

12:30 PM, 26th July 2016, About 8 years ago

I would be very surprised if one of the brokers with access to BMW's range could not get you the same deal, at very close to the same price (i.e. the business price + VAT), on a personal contract hire

One to try, for example out of a list of many, is select car leasing in Reading

Mark Evans

10:25 AM, 27th July 2016, About 8 years ago

Have you registered yourself as a sole trader with HMRC? I wonder whether it would be better to go to a broker via http://www.contracthireandleasing.com and find a better broker deal. In my experience I was able to get much better deals with brokers compared with the dealerships. Even if you were to register as a sole trader now you can do that in your own name which would be identical to the name of your self assessment so that might satisfy the 'business' requirement you talk about.

You might also want to consider the benefits/pitfalls of a business lease vs a personal lease. In most cases where you are the only employee/director of a limited company, your accountant would advise against a business lease because of the Tax/NI contributions the company has to pay and the P11D implications for the employee.

Might be worth checking with your accountant if any of this would apply to you.

Kate Mellor

18:51 PM, 28th July 2016, About 8 years ago

This may be a little out of left field, but would it help if you opened a business bank account? I presume as a sole trader you currently use a personal bank account for your business income & expenditure as it's fee free.

Ask the dealership if you could show a business bank account in your name if they would accept you are a business customer. It's all that's required for Cash & Carry membership.

You could probably get a 12 month fee free deal somewhere and you could always close the account at the end of the year...

Michael Barnes

22:40 PM, 28th July 2016, About 8 years ago

If the requirement is "a business", then point them to the HMRC documents that say that letting property IS a business.

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