TDO wrote:
STF wrote:
I understand that the vast majority of drivers are self employed and as such can claim any cost of fitting a camera against tax - it will therefore cost them nothing in the long run!
That's a fallacy but it also seems to be a view widely held in the trade.
If you spent £1,000 on a system then you would get tax relief on this but that would be at the rate you pay tax on - so if you pay tax at 20% then you would save £200 in tax, thus the system would still cost you £800.
(Another way of looking at this is that it would reduce your profits by £1,000, so your tax bill would be reduced by the tax you would pay on that £1,000, which at 20% is £200)
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The best way is to lease buy, all payments except for the last one are totally tax-deductible, similar to rent, the last one is when you purchase, very small amount of tax, but be careful of the company that sets up the lease purchase contract for you...
Another point to remember is that the cost of the system would be spread over several year, so you wouldn't get the full tax saving for several years